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ISLAM    AND    MISSIONS 


LATEST  IMPORTANT  WORKS 
ON  MOHAMMEDANISM 


The  Mohammedan  World  </Today 

A  Symposium  edited  by  JAMES  L.  BARTON,  D.D., 

S.  M.  ZWEMER,  D.D.  and  E.  M.  WHERRY,  D.D. 

Illustrated^  8  vo,  Cloth,  $i.jo  net 

Islam  and  Christianity 

The  Irrepressible  Conflict 
By  E.  M.  WHERRY,  D.D.        Cloth,  $1.25  net 

Our  Moslem  Sisters 

A  Symposium  edited  by  ANNIE  VAN  SOMMER 
Illustrated,  Cloth,  $1.23  net 

Arabia,  the  Cradle  of  Islam 

By  S.  M.  ZWEMER,  D.D.,  F.  R.  G.  S. 

Illustrated,  Cloth,  $2.00 

Persian  Life  and  Customs 

By  SAMUEL  G.  WILSON,  M.A. 
Illustrations  and  Maps,  Cloth, 


The  Egyptian  Sudan 

By  JOHN  KELLY  GIFFEN,  D.D. 
Illustrated,  Cloth,  $1.00  net 

Constantinople  and  Its  Problems 

By  HENRY  O.  DWIGHT,  L.L.D. 
Illustrated,  Cloth,  $f.2j  net 

Henry  Martyn 

First  Modern  Missionary  to  Mohammedans 
By  GEORGE  SMITH    Illustrated,  Cloth,  $1.30  net 

Missions  and  Modern  History 

By  ROBERT  E.  SPEER,  M.A. 
2  vols.,  8  vo..,  Cloth,  $4.00  net 


FLEMING   H.  REVELL  COMPANY 

Publishers 


ISLAM  AND  MISSIONS 


Being  papers  read  at  the  Second 
Missionary  Conference  on  behalf 
of  the  Mohammedan  World  at 
Lucknow,  January  23-28,  1911 


Edited  by 

E.  M.  WHERRY,  D.D.,  S.  M.  ZWEMER,  D.D., 
C.  G.  MYLREA,  M.A. 


NEW  YORK         CHICAGO         TORONTO 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

LONDON       AND       EDINBURGH 


Copyright,  19",  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  123  North  Wabash  Ave. 
Toronto:  25  Richmond  Street,  W. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:  100  Princes  Street 


CONTENTS 

I.  AN  INTRODUCTORY  SURVEY        ....         9 

Rev.  Samuel  M.  Zwemer,  D.D.,  F.  R.  G.  S.f 

Arabia 

II.  PAN~!SLAMISM  IN  TURKEY  .....       43 

Rev.  W.  S.  Nelson,  D.D.,  Syria 

III.  PAN-!SLAMISM  IN  AFRICA    .          .          .          .         •        53 

Rev.  Friedrich  Wiirz,  Basel 

IV.  THE  DERVISH  ORDERS  IN  AFRICA          ...       63 

Rev.  Canon  E.  Sell,  D.D.,  Madras 

V.  THE  MOSLEM  ADVANCE  IN  AFRICA       ...       76 

Prof.  Carl  Meinhoff,  LL.  D.,  Hamburg 

VI.  PAN-!SLAMISM  IN  MALAYSIA         .  .87 

Rev.  G.  Simon,  Sumatra 

VIIo          POLITICAL  CHANGES  IN  TURKEY  .         .         .      loo 

Prof.  J.  Stewart  Crawford,  Beirut 

VIII.  POLITICAL  CHANGES  IN  ARABIA   .          .          .  Il6 

Rev.  J.  C.  Toung,  M.  D.,  Aden,  Arabia 

IX.  POLITICAL  CHANGES  IN  PERSIA     .          .          .         .128 

Rev.  L.  F.  Esselstyn,  Persia 

X.  THE  SITUATION  IN  INDIA   .          .          .          .          .141 

Rev.  W.  A.  Wilson,  M.  A.,  D.D.,  Indore 

XI.  THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW  REGIME  IN  TURKEY         .      159 

Rev.  S.  V.  R.  Trow  bridge,  Aintab,  Turkey 

XII.  CONDITIONS  IN  CENTRAL  ASIA     .          .          .          .172 

Colonel  G.  Wingate,  C.  I.  E.,  London 

XIII.  ISLAM  UNDER  PAGAN  RULE          .          .          .          .183 

Rev.  Charles  R.  Watson,  D.D.,  Philadelphia 

XIV.  ISLAM  UNDER  CHRISTIAN  RULE  .          .          .  195 

Rev .  W.  H.  T.  Gairdner,  B.  A.,   Cairo 

5 


'235551 


"  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Joshua  was  by  Jericho, 
that  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  and  looked,  and  behold  there 
stood  a  man  over  against  him  with  his  sword  drawn  in 
his  hand :  and  Joshua  went  unto  him  and  said  unto  him, 
Art  thou  for  us  or  for  our  adversaries  ?  And  he  said 
Nay,  but  as  prince  of  the  host  of  Jehovah  am  I  now 
come." — Joshua  v.  77,  z^f. 

"  When  the  strong  man  fully  armed  guardeth  his  own 
court  his  goods  are  in  peace,  but  when  a  stronger  than 
he  shall  come  upon  him  and  overcome  him  he  taketh 
from  him  his  whole  armour  wherein  he  trusted  and  divideth 
his  spoils." — Luke  xi.  21 ',  22. 

"  Not  by  might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  my  Spirit,  saith 
Jehovah  of  hosts." — Zechariah  iv.  6,  R.  V. 


AN  INTBODUCTOBY  SUBVEY 
REV.  SAMUEL  M.  ZWEMER,  D.  D.,  E.  R.  G.  S.,  ARABIA 

THE  Moslem  world  is  not  a  haphazard  expression 
invented  by  missionaries  to  represent  a  portion 
of  the  great  world  problem  of  evangelization, 
but  is  a  literalism  which  sums  up  an  actual  situation. 
Six  years  before  the  Cairo  Conference  the  first  number  of 
the  Revue  du  Monde  Musulman  was  published  in  Paris, 
and  for  ten  years  this  monthly  magazine  has,  from  a 
purely  scientific  standpoint,  tried  to  survey  the  extent 
of  Islam,  its  condition,  and  developments  in  those  lands 
where  it  holds  sway,  and  which  as  a  world  by  itself  scien- 
tifically requires  unity  of  treatment. 

Nor  is  the  Moslem  world  merely  a  geographical  expres- 
sion for  the  vast  areas  covered  by  Moslem  conquest  or 
conversion.  The  term  is  of  much  deeper  significance.  As 
Dr.  C.  H.  Becker  pointed  out  in  his  article  in  the  first  num- 
ber of  Der  Islam,  the  word  Islam  itself  stands  for  a  unity 
of  religious  conception,  a  unity  of  political  theory  and  of 
ideals  of  civilization,  as  well  as  of  religion,  which  to- 
gether form  the  problem  of  Islam.  Therefore  the  essen- 
tial and  philosophical  unity  of  the  problem,  in  lands 
which  constitute  the  Moslem  world,  has  been  recognized 
by  all  those  who  have  made  a  study  of  the  subject. 

It  is  possible,  for  this  reason,  to  give  a  general  survey 
of  the  Moslem  world  as  a  unit,  and  there  are  three  reasons 
why  this  survey  should  be  given  at  the  opening  of  the 
Conference  which  succeeds  that  held  at  Cairo  five  years 
ago.  The  Cairo  Conference  marked  a  great  step  in  ad- 
vance towards  the  evangelization  of  the  Mohammedan 

9 


;.i:d.''  '::.,:  :*\  -.''Islam  and  Missions 

world  because  it  gave  the  first  full  information  through 
its  published  reports  of  the  actual  state  of  Mohammedan 
lands  early  in  the  twentieth  century  j  but  for  one  reason 
or  another  some  lands  were  left  out  in  that  survey,  and  in 
other  cases  the  survey  was  inadequate  or  inaccurate. 
The  chief  value  of  the  Cairo  Conference  was  to  inaugu- 
rate or  stimulate  more  accurate  observation  and  more 
careful  report  among  missionaries  in  Moslem  lands.  The 
first  reason,  therefore,  for  a  general  survey  of  the  Moslem 
world  at  the  opening  of  this  Conference  is  to  supplement 
the  Cairo  Conference  Eeports.  The  second  reason  is  to 
correct  its  returns  and  statistics  by  later  investigations 
and  developments  ;  and  the  third  reason,  sufficient  in  it- 
self, is  that  only  by  a  general  survey  can  the  delegates  to 
this  Conference  see  the  whole  problem  at  the  outset  and 
recognize  its  unity,  its  opportunity,  and  the  importunity 
of  the  situation  because  of  both. 
"We  will  take  up  the  present  survey  in  four  divisions  : 

First,  as  regards  Statistics  ; 

Second,  Political  conditions  and  developments ; 

Third,  Social  and  intellectual  movements  since 
the  Cairo  Conference  ;  and, 

Fourth,  The  changed  attitude  towards  the  Mos- 
lem world  and  missions  to  Moslems  in  the 
home  Churches  as  a  result  of  the  Cairo  Con- 
ference. 

Such  a  survey  can  only  be  general,  and  preparatory  to 
the  more  careful  consideration  of  the  topics  that  follow 
on  our  programme  :  Pan-Islamism,  Missions  and  Govern- 
ments, The  Moslem  Advance,  Eeform  Movements,  The 
Training  of  Missionaries,  and  The  Methods  to  be  used. 

1.    STATISTICAL 

We  must  still  answer  the  question  as  to  the  total  pop- 
ulation of  the  Moslem  world  by  conjecture  instead  of 


An  Introductory  Survey  ll 

accurate  statistics,  at  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury. The  discrepancies  in  the  statistical  surveys  of  the 
Moslem  world  given  by  various  authorities  are  as  dis- 
concerting as  they  are  surprising.  The  total  population 
of  the  Moslem  world,  for  example,  has  been  variously 
estimated  as  follows : 

Statesman's  Year  Book,  1890  .  203,600,000 
Brockhaus,  ' '  Convers-Lexicon, ' J 

1894 175,000,000 

Hubert  Jansen,  "  Yerbreitung  des 

Islams,"  1897  .  .  .  259,680,672 
S.  M.  Zwemer  (Missionary  Re- 
view), 1898  .  .  .  196,491,842 
Allgemeine  Missions  Zeitschrift, 

1902  .  .  *  .  175,290,000 

H.  Wichmann,  in  Justus  Perthes' 

"Atlas,"  1903  .  .  240,000,000 

Encyclopedia  of  Missions,  1904  193,550,000 

"  The  Mohammedan  World  of 

To-day"  (Cairo Conference, 

1906)  ....  232,966,170 
Martin  Hartmann  (J.910)  .  .  223,985,780 

Yet  the  discrepancy  between  the  highest  figures  given, 
for  example,  by  Hubert  Jansen  and  Dr.  Hartmann,  and 
the  lowest  figures  of  the  Allgemeine  Missions  Zeitschrift  are 
partly  explained  by  the  varying  estimates  placed  as  to 
the  number  of  Moslems  in  the  Sudan  and  in  China.  For 
the  rest  of  the  world  there  seems  to  be  at  least  partial 
agreement.  The  most  detailed  statistics  can  be  found  in 
Jansen,  but  they  are  not  reliable  in  many  respects  and 
not  as  conservative  as  the  results  obtained  in  the  papers 
prepared  for  the  Cairo  Conference.  The  latest  statistical 
survey  of  the  Moslem  world  is  that  given  by  Dr.  Hart- 
mann in  an  appendix  to  his  valuable  book,  "Der  Islam." 
The  chief  discrepancies  between  the  statistics  he  gives 
and  those  of  the  Cairo  Conference  are  the  following : 


12  Islam  and  Missions 

Turkey  in  Europe  is  put  down  with  a  Moslem  popula- 
tion of  3,295,000  instead  of  the  2,500,000  given  at  Cairo. 
The  Moslem  population  of  the  Philippine  Islands  is  given 
as  725,300  instead  of  300,000  ;  that  of  Indo-China  is  only 
1,146,000,  while  the  Cairo  survey  gives  it  as  1,430,383. 
The  Moslem  population  of  British  India,  including  Cey- 
lon, Burma,  Aden  and  Perim,  is  given  as  only  59,796,- 
800  j  according  to  the  last  census  it  is  62,458,077  for  India 
proper.  The  Moslem  population  of  Abyssinia  was  given 
at  the  Cairo  Conference  as  350,000 :  Dr.  Hartmann 
makes  it  800,000.  Morocco  was  given  at  Cairo  as  5,600,- 
000  :  here  it  is  put  down  as  7,840,000.  The  Moslem 
population  of  German  East  Africa  as  6,700,000  is  evi- 
dently a  misprint. 

We  turn  now  to  the  totals  of  Dr.  Hartmann' s  survey. 
That  for  all  Europe,  12,991,000,  including  Eussia,  does 
not  differ  much  from  the  total  of  the  Cairo  survey.  In 
the  case  of  Asia  his  total  is  slightly  below  that  of  Cairo, 
which  included  all  the  Eussian  Moslems.  In  Africa  his 
total  is  nearly  6,000,000  less  than  that  given  at  Cairo, 
while  his  total  for  the  whole  world  is  223,985,780 ;  that 
given  at  Cairo  was  232,966,170.  If  we  deduct  from  Dr. 
Hartmann7  s  statistics  the  excessive  figures  for  Siam, 
China  and  the  Philippine  Islands,  together  with  the 
printed  error  in  regard  to  the  Kameruns,  the  total  esti- 
mated population  of  the  Moslem  world  according  to  this 
latest  survey  would  be  a  little  less  than  200,000,000. 

In  regard  to  two  large  areas  of  the  Moslem  world  we 
are  able  to  speak  with  much  greater  accuracy  now  than 
at  the  Cairo  Conference.  Miss  Jennie  Von  Meyer  and 
Madam  Sophie  Bobrovnikoff  have  published  careful  sur- 
veys of  the  extent  and  character  of  Islam  in  the  Eussian 
Empire,  showing  that  the  total  Moslem  population  of 
Eussia,  including  those  of  Khiva  and  Bokhara,  is  not 
much  less  than  20,000,000.  And  Mr.  Marshall  Broom- 


An  Introductory  Survey  13 

hall,  in  his  recent  volume  on  Islam  in  China,  after  most 
careful  investigations,  proves  beyond  a  doubt  that  the 
Moslem  population  in  the  Chinese  Empire  lies  somewhere 
between  the  minimum  and  maximum  figures  of  5,000,000 
and  10,000,000.  And  although  this  number  is  less  than 
one-third  of  the  supposed  Moslem  population  of  the 
Chinese  Empire  given  in  the  Statesman's  Year  Book,  it 
is  too  large  to  be  ignored.  We  quote  a  paragraph  from 
Mr.  Broomhall's  chapter  on  the  subject : 

"In  spite  of  the  somewhat  uncertain  light  which  at 
present  exists  we  may,  however,  safely  say  that  the  Mos- 
lem population  of  China  is  certainly  equal  to  the  entire 
population  of  Algeria,  or  Scotland  or  Ireland  ;  that  it  is 
in  all  probability  fully  equal  to  that  of  Morocco,  and 
possibly  not  less  than  the  total  population  of  Egypt  or 
Persia.  A  few  millions  among  the  hundreds  of  millions 
of  China  may  not  seem  many,  but  if  we  think  of  a  com- 
munity equal  to  that  of  Egypt  or  Persia,  peculiarly  ac- 
cessible to  the  Gospel,  and  yet  practically  without  any 
missionaries  specially  set  apart  or  qualified  to  deal  with 
them,  and,  apart  from  one  or  two  small  exceptions,  with 
no  literature  for  use  among  them,  we  shall  have  a  more 
adequate  conception  of  the  real  problem. 

"What  should  we  think  of  Manchuria  or  Mongolia 
without  any  missionaries,  or  of  no  interest  centering 
around  the  closed  land  of  Tibet?  Yet  the  accessible 
Moslem  population  of  China  are  certainly  too  or  three 
times  that  of  Mongolia,  are  fully  equal  to  that  of  Tibet, 
and  probably  not  less  than  that  of  Manchuria.  It  may, 
therefore,  be  said  that  within  China  there  is  a  special 
people  equal  in  number  to  the  population  of  any  of 
China's  dependencies,  for  whom  practically  nothing  is 
being  done,  and  whose  presence  hitherto  has  been  almost 
ignored." 

The  Moslem  population  of  the  Eussian  Empire  and  the 
Mohammedans  of  China  are  peculiarly  accessible,  and  it 
would  seem  that  perhaps  in  both  of  these  empires  work 


14  Islam  and  Missions 

among  them  might  be  followed  by  larger  results  than  in 
other  lands  where  Islam  has  been  the  predominant  faith 
for  centuries. 

Summing  up  the  statistical  survey,  and  without  going 
into  such  detail  as  is  found  in  the  survey  published  by 
the  Cairo  Conference,  the  200,000,000  in  the  Moslem 
world  are  found  chiefly  in  the  following  countries  : 

India  leads  the  list  with  62,458,077  Moslems,  and  it  is 
a  startling  fact  that  there  are  now  under  British  rule  more 
Mohammedans  than  under  any  other  government  in 
modern  or  in  medieval  days.  Counting  her  possessions 
and  dependencies,  at  least  95,000,000  followers  of  the 
prophet  of  Mecca  are  to-day  enjoying  the  blessings  of 
British  rule,  and  the  total  number  of  Moslems  in  the 
British  Empire  is  5,000,000  in  excess  of  the  Christian 
population  of  that  empire.  As  Dr.  Jones  points  out  in 
his  book,  "  India,  Its  Life  and  Thought,"  this  is  a  most 
significant  fact.  The  Moslem  population  of  India  is  not 
at  a  standstill,  but  is  growing.  According  to  the  same 
authority,  during  the  last  decade  it  increased  by  9. 1  per 
cent,  while  the  population  of  India  as  a  whole  increased 
by  only  1.9  per  cent. 

Next  to  India  Java  has  the  largest  Moslem  population 
of  any  country  in  the  world,  with  a  total  of  24,270,600 
Moslems.  The  Eussian  Empire  follows  closely  with  its 
20,000,000  ;  then  the  Turkish  Empire  in  Asia  and  in 
Europe  with  15,528,800  Moslems.  Following  this  we 
have  a  group  of  Moslem  lands,  Egypt,  Persia,  Morocco, 
Algeria,  Arabia,  Afghanistan,  almost  wholly  Moslem, 
with  populations  of  from  4,000,000  to  9,000,000  each. 
There  is  scarcely  a  country  in  Africa  or  Asia  to-day  where 
a  Moslem  population  is  not  found.  In  some  cases  this 
population  may  be  very  small,  but  in  nearly  every  case 
it  is  a  growing  population.  For  example  Tibet,  the 
great  closed  land,  counts  to-day  some  20,000  Moslems, 


An  Introductory  Survey  15 

and  in  the  case  of  South  Africa,  Moslems  are  now  found 
in  all  the  region  from  the  Cape  to  the  Congo.  A  recent 
correspondent  of  the  London  Morning  Post  states  :  "So 
far  throughout  the  centuries  Mohammedan  influence, 
which  has  always  spread  along  the  great  slave  trade  and 
caravan  routes,  has  been,  as  far  as  is  known,  invariably 
turned  aside  by  the  vast  swamps  and  forests  of  the  Congo 
Basin,  which  has  thus  acted  as  a  kind  of  breakwater  for 
British  South  Africa.  But  just  as  the  incursion  of  the 
British  into  Uganda  seems  to  have  let  loose  all  kinds  of 
dormant  insect  plagues  and  pests,  so  European  civiliza- 
tion and  railways  are  breaking  down  the  barrier  between 
the  North  and  South  and  allowing  a  freer  circulation  of 
ideas  and  religions  throughout  the  whole  circuit  of  the 
continent."  He  goes  on  to  say  that  there  is  a  real  danger 
of  Islam  spreading  among  the  Zulus  and  Basutos,  who,  if 
swept  into  the  Moslem  fold,  would  become  propagators 
of  Islam  on  account  of  their  martial  instincts  and  their 
anti -foreign  proclivities. 

I  have  not  been  able  to  learn  whether  the  70,000 
Mohammedans  living  along  the  north  coast  and  south- 
east coast  of  Madagascar,  among  a  total  population  of 
3,000,000,  are  at  present  increasing,  but  the  fact  that 
Islam  has  a  long  history  back  of  it  in  this  island,  and  the 
recent  change  of  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  French 
government  may  well  call  our  attention  to  the  need  of 
the  Moslems  there.  The  story  of  Islam  in  Madagascar 
has  recently  been  told  in  two  volumes  by  a  French  writer 
who  seems  to  think  that  the  faith  is  at  present  growing. 

Since  the  Cairo  Conference  attention  has  been  called  to 
the  rapid  increase  of  Islam  in  Abyssinia,  especially  io 
the  north.  It  is  reported  that  whole  tribes  once  Chris- 
tian, and  still  bearing  Christian  names,  have  become 
Moslem.  Dr.  Enno  Littmann,  in  a  recent  article  in 
Der  Islauij  shows  the  advance  which  Islam  has  made  dur- 


16  Islam  and  Missions 

log  the  past  fifty  years  among  tribes  which  still  bear 
Christian  names.  Of  the  Mensa  Tribe  he  says  that  two- 
thirds  are  at  present  Mohammedan,  and  only  one-third 
nominally  Christian.  The  Bogos,  who  were  Christian  in 
1860,  have  more  than  half  of  them  become  converted  to 
Islam,  and  the  Betguk  have  all  turned  Moslem.  It  is  in- 
teresting, however,  to  note  what  this  writer  states : 
' l  The  Swedish  Mission  has  successfully  withstood  the 
advance  of  Islam,  and  has  brought  Moslems  back  in  many 
cases  to  their  early  Christianity,  since  in  North  Abyssinia 
it  is  not  regarded  as  a  very  great  crime  to  leave  Islam,  as 
it  is  in  Arabia,  Syria,  or  Persia." 

The  increase  of  Islam,  and  therefore  its  menace  and 
peril,  is,  however,  not  confined  to  the  domains  of  King 
Menelik.  ' '  The  threatening  advance  of  Islam  in  Equato- 
rial Africa,"  to  use  the  words  of  the  Edinburgh  Confer- 
ence Beport,  "presents  to  the  Church  of  Christ  the 
decisive  question  whether  the  Dark  Continent  shall  be- 
come Mohammedan  or  Christian,"  and  it  is  the  unani- 
mous opinion  of  missionary  statesmen  that  the  crucial 
problem  of  missions  in  Africa  is  to  stem  the  tide  of 
Islam.  In  a  letter  to  the  Edinburgh  Conference, 
Dr.  Gustav  Warneck  of  the  University  of  Halle  wrote  : 
"There  is  no  difference  of  opinion  that  Christian  missions 
dare  not  halt  on  the  borders  of  the  Mohammedan  world, 
yet  the  crucial  question  at  present  is,  Where  are  Chris- 
tian missions  most  seriously  threatened  by  Islam? 
There  can  be  no  doubt  about  the  answer :  In  Central 
Africa  ;  perhaps  also  in  the  Dutch  East  Indies.  If  we  do 
not  counteract  the  advance  of  Islam  with  all  our  energy 
and  along  the  whole  line,  we  shall  lose  not  only  large 
parts  of  now  pagan  Africa,  but  even  territories  already 
Christianized.  The  main  battle  against  Mohammedan- 
ism in  the  immediate  future  will  be  fought  on  East 
African  soil." 


An  Introductory  Survey  17 

The  statement  made  by  Commission  No.  1  of  the 
Edinburgh  Conference  in  regard  to  this  advance  was 
none  too  strong.  It  was  based  on  the  accumulated 
evidence  of  a  large  correspondence  with  missionaries  in 
every  part  of  the  continent,  and  every  word  could  be 
expanded  into  a  paragraph  if  authorities  were  quoted. 
' t  The  absorption  of  native  races  into  Islam  is  proceeding 
rapidly  and  continuously  in  practically  all  parts  of  the  con- 
tinent. The  Commission  has  had  convincing  evidence  of  this 
fact  brought  to  its  attention  by  missionaries  along  the  Nile,  in 
East  Central  Africa,  in  Southeast  Africa,  on  different  parts 
of  the  West  Coast,  in  Northern  Nigeria,  in  the  Sudan,  in 
different  parts  of  the  Congo  Basin,  in  parts  lying  south  of 
the  Congo,  and  even  in  South  Africa.  Mohammedan 
traders  are  finding  their  way  into  the  remotest  parts  of 
the  continent,  and  it  is  well  known  that  every  Moham- 
medan trader  is  more  or  less  a  Mohammedan  missionary. 
The  result  of  this  penetration  of  the  field  by  these  repre- 
sentatives of  Islam  will  be  that  the  Christian  missionary 
enterprise  will  year  by  year  become  more  difficult. 
Paganism  is  doomed.  Animistic  faiths  crumble  quickly 
before  any  higher  and  more  dogmatic  religion.  Either 
Christianity  or  Islam  will  prevail  throughout  Africa." 

From  every  part  of  the  mission  field  voices  are  raised 
to  call  attention  to  this  advance  in  the  Dark  Continent. 
A  few  years  ago  Canon  Sell  of  Madras  wrote  :  "There 
are  times  when  it  is  very  difficult  to  balance  the  compet- 
ing claims  of  various  parts  of  the  mission  field.  I  see  no 
difficulty  now.  .  .  .  Certain  parts  of  Africa  form 
now,  in  military  language,  the  objective,  and  are  the 
strategical  positions  of  the  great  mission  field.  Parts  of 
Africa  in  which  the  Moslem  advance  is  imminent  have 
for  the  present  a  preeminent  claim.  The  absorption  of 
pagan  races  into  Islam  is  so  rapid  and  continuous  that  in 
a  few  years7  time  some  may  be  quite  lost  to  us." 


l8  Islam  and  Missions 

The  Bishop  of  Eangoon  wrote  in  reply  to  questions  for 
the  Edinburgh  Conference  :  i  r  First  in  urgency  are  the  races 
at  present  animistic  but  threatened  by  Islam,  as  in  Africa." 

"  The  most  urgent  of  all  mission  problems,"  says  Mis- 
sionary Landgrebe  of  Sumatra,  "are  the  countries 
threatened  by  Islam  in  Africa." 

Mr.  McNairn  of  Peru  wrote  on  the  same  question  : 
"  Foremost  among  all  fields  where  the  call  is  imperative, 
and  the  very  urgency  of  the  need  is  God's  call  to  His 
Church  to  go  in  and  possess  the  land,  is  Africa,  in  view 
of  the  great  Moslem  advance.  We  must  take  the  Light 
to  the  Dark  Continent  before  the  apostles  of  Mohammed- 
anism enshroud  it  in  yet  greater  darkness." 

And  finally  here  is  the  testimony  of  Dr.  Holland  of 
Baluchistan  :  "  Africa  should  first  receive  concentrated 
attention  because  if  pagan  Africa  once  embraces  Islam, 
then  the  work  of  converting  them  to  Christianity  will  be 
much  more  difficult  and  slow.  Once  Africa  is  under  the 
sway  of  Islam,  the  days  of  spiritual  harvest  such  as  have 
taken  place  in  Uganda  will  be  forever  over.  Africa,  in  my 
opinion,  offers  the  most  urgent  call  in  the  present  time." 

In  the  Dutch  East  Indies  the  progress  of  Islam  has 
been  disputed,  and  in  some  cases  arrested  effectually  by 
the  splendid  missionary  effort  of  Dutch  and  German  so- 
cieties. Nevertheless  the  character  of  Islam  in  the  East 
Indies  is  changing.  Formerly  it  was  a  mere  veneer  of 
external  observances  covering  the  animistic  faith.  It  is 
now  becoming  more  pervasive  and  dominant.  Increased 
travel  to  Mecca  by  better  means  of  communication,  pan-Is- 
lamism  through  the  dervish  orders,  and  the  power  of  Mos- 
lem journalism  from  Cairo  and  Constantinople  as  centres, 
are  compacting  and  strengthening  the  Mohammedanism  of 
the  Malays.  In  regard  to  Sumatra  and  Java  the  Edin- 
burgh Conference  Eeport  states  :  "  In  Sumatra,  Islam  is 
advancing  into  hitherto  pagan  territories.  Had  Chris- 


An  Introductory  Survey  19 

tian  missionary  work  been  prosecuted  vigorously  a  gen- 
eration ago,  Islam  would  not  have  gained  such  a  strong 
foothold  there.  In  Java,  Mohammedanism  shows  new 
life  in  the  establishment  of  a  Moslem  university,  and  in 
the  production  of  an  edition  of  the  Koran  in  Javanese. 
The  number  of  teachers  of  the  Koran  is  multiplying 
greatly.  The  inhabitants  are  coming  more  and  more 
under  the  influence  of  Mohammedanism,  and  are  thus 
being  made  more  inaccessible  to  the  work  of  the  Dutch 
missionaries.  Unless  the  Church  promptly  does  more  to 
meet  the  desire  for  education  and  enlightenment,  there 
is  danger  that  the  population  will  more  and  more  accept 
Mohammedanism. J  J 

Nor  is  the  Mohammedan  population  of  South  America 
and  the  West  Indies  any  longer  a  negligible  factor  in  our 
survey.  In  British  Guiana  there  are,  according  to  Dr. 
Hartmann,  22,200  Moslems  ;  in  Dutch  Guiana,  5,800  ;  in 
Central  America  and  the  West  Indies,  20,600.  These, 
together  with  the  8,000  Moslems  in  the  United  States, 
make  a  total  of  56,600  Mohammedans  in  the  New  World. 
Such  a  small  fraction  of  the  population  might  well  be 
omitted  in  our  survey  were  it  not  that  undoubted  testi- 
mony comes  in  regard  to  the  activity  of  Islam,  especially 
in  British  Guiana  and  the  West  Indies.  Eev.  J.  B.  Hill 
writes  in  a  recent  number  of  the  Toronto  Missionary  Wit- 
ness concerning  the  aggressive  character  of  the  Moham- 
medan missionaries  in  proselytizing  their  Hindu  country- 
men who  work  on  the  plantations:  "The  most  serious 
feature  of  Mohammedanism  in  British  Guiana  is  its  in- 
fluence upon  our  Christian  people.  There  have  actually 
been  several  cases  in  which  Christians  of  the  negro  race 
have  surrendered  Christ  for  the  prophet  of  Mecca.  The 
Mohammedan  missionary  is  a  skillful  debater.  He 
studies  the  Christian  Scriptures  with  a  view  to  showing 
their  inferiority  to  the  Koran.  He  is  more  familiar  with 


2O  Islam  and  Missions 

the  Bible  than  many  of  our  more  illiterate  Christians,  and 
by  misinterpretation  he  endeavours  to  shake  the  faith  of 
uneducated  Christians  in  the  Word  of  God.  If  the  re- 
sults of  a  century's  missionary  effort  in  British  Guiana 
are  to  be  preserved,  the  Christian  Church  must  make  a 
more  determined  effort  to  combat  the  influence  of  the 
East  Indian.  The  struggle  of  the  future  in  British  Guiana 
will  be  between  Christ  and  Mohammed.  > 7  From  Jamaica, 
in  the  West  Indies,  Miss  Julia  M.  Bentley  also  writes, 
telling  of  the  Mohammedan  opposition  encountered  on 
the  estates  and  showing  that  it  is  by  far  the  most  difficult 
thing  to  meet :  "  Many  Hindus  will  be  getting  interested 
and  really  favourable  to  Christianity,  and  often  converted, 
when  some  Indian  Mohammedan,  or  several  of  them,  will 
form  a  plot  of  persecution  or  rival  teaching  and  lead 
them  astray.  It  seems  to  me  that  Mohammedan  work  is 
really  the  keystone  of  the  arch  at  the  present  day  of  mis- 
sionary effort. " 

All  this  evidence  goes  to  prove  that  the  statistics  of 
the  Moslem  world  are  not  stationary,  and  although  the 
character  of  Islam  is  widely  divergent,  and  can  in  many 
cases  hardly  be  distinguished  from  paganism,  especially 
on  the  border  marches  where  Islam  has  made  its  most 
recent  conquests,  it  nevertheless  is  still  a  growing  faith 
both  in  breadth  and  depth  with  its  dynamics  as  well  as 
its  statistics. 

We  conclude  our  statistical  survey  with  a  paragraph 
on  the  unoccupied  mission  fields  in  the  Moslem  world. 
The  Findings  of  Commission  Number  I  at  Edinburgh 
have  put  the  unoccupied  fields  of  the  world  in  general 
before  the  attention  of  the  Church,  and  in  their  report, 
based  upon  the  returns  from  every  part  of  the  Moslem 
world,  they  state  that  ' '  a  large  proportion  of  the  unoc- 
cupied fields  are  to  be  found  to-day  within  the  Moham- 
medan world,  not  only  in  Northern  Africa  and  in  Western 


An  Introductory  Survey  21 

Asia  but  also  in  China.  Indeed  by  far  the  greater  part 
of  the  Mohammedan  world  is  practically  unoccupied." 
This  Finding  of  the  Commission  is  based  upon  the  report 
of  their  sub-committee  on  Unoccupied  Fields,  which  in- 
cluded a  survey  of  sections  untouched  and  not  included 
in  any  existing  scheme  of  missionary  operation.  Under 
this  head  they  mention  Eussian  Turkestan  with  5,000,000 
Mohammedans;  Khiva  with  800,000;  Bokhara  with 
1,250,000 ;  Afghanistan  with  4,000,000  Moslems.  In 
Africa  the  unoccupied  Moslem  fields  include  Barka  with 
100,000,  Tunis,  south  of  the  coast,  with  1,000,000  ;  Oran 
with  1,300,000;  2,260,000  in  the  Atlas  Biff  country,  the 
Mulaya  Valley  and  the  Sahara  district  of  Morocco,  as 
well  as  large  regions  mentioned  in  their  report  where 
Islam  and  Christianity  are  battling  for  the  conquest  of 
paganism.  In  Arabia  the  provinces  of  Nejd,  Hejaz  and 
Hadramaut  are  wholly  unoccupied,  and  in  the  Malay 
Peninsula  there  are  three  districts  with  a  total  population 
of  1,000,000  souls  without  Christian  missions. 

Although  all  the  great  strategic  centres  of  population 
in  the  Moslem  world  are  already  occupied  and  its  great 
cities,  with  the  exception  of  Mecca  and  Meshed,  are  in 
one  way  or  another  centres  of  missionary  effort,  we  can- 
not ignore  these  unoccupied  regions  and  untouched 
populations  in  our  statistical  survey.  The  greatest  plea 
for  missions  is  not  opportunity  but  destitution.  There 
is  in  these  fields  the  glory  of  the  impossible.  Think  of 
cities  like  Mecca  and  Bokhara,  or  of  races  like  the  Af- 
ghans and  Somalia ! 

We  turn  next  to  a  consideration  of  the  present  political 
movements  in  Islam. 

II.    POLITICAL 

It  was  Lord  Curzon  who  made  the  shrewd  remark  that 
Islam  represented  not  a  State  Church,  but  a  Church  State. 


22  Islam  and  Missions 

This  has  been  its  ideal  from  the  days  of  Mohammed,  and 
it  is  not  without  reason  that  the  Lucknow  programme  de- 
votes so  large  a  portion  of  its  time  to  a  consideration  of 
the  political  changes  in  the  Moslem  world  and  their  re- 
lation to  Islam,  and  the  outlook  for  Christian  missions,  as 
well  as  to  a  consideration  of  the  attitude  of  Moslem  gov- 
ernments towards  Christian  propagandism.  Without  en- 
croaching upon  the  special  programme  for  the  second 
day  of  our  Conference,  a  general  survey  of  the  political 
changes  in  the  Moslem  world  since  the  Cairo  Conference 
may  prove  helpful,  and  is  specially  appropriate  on  this 
first  day  when  we  engage  in  thanksgiving  and  praise  for 
what  God  has  wrought  in  the  Moslem  world  through  His 
providence  and  Spirit. 

The  statement  was  made  at  the  Cairo  Conference  that 
the  present  political  division  of  the  Mohammedan  world 
is  a  startling  evidence  of  the  finger  of  God  in  history  and 
a  challenge  to  faith  because  it  indicates  how  many  of  the 
doors  in  Moslem  lands  are  wide  open.  Three-fourths  of 
the  Moslem  world  were  then  considered  accessible  to 
missions,  and  the  late  Dr.  Jessup,  speaking  of  this  chal- 
lenge of  open  doors,  said,  "  It  is  a  fact  not  to  be  ignored 
or  lightly  regarded  that  almost  the  only  really  open  doors 
to  reach  Islam  are  in  countries  where  Moslems  are  under 
Christian  or  non -Moslem  rule.  The  Turkish  Empire, 
Western  Arabia,  Persia,  Turkestan,  Afghanistan,  Tripoli, 
and  Morocco,  under  Moslem  rule,  are  virtually  sealed 
against  liberty  of  conscience  and  belief.  On  the  other 
hand,  in  India,  the  East  Indies,  Northwest  China,  Egypt, 
Tunis,  and  Algiers,  the  door  may  be  regarded  as  open, 
so  that  about  140,000,000  are  in  a  measure  accessible  to 
the  Christian  missionary."  It  needs  a  statement  such  as 
this  to  make  us  realize  what  God  hath  wrought  during 
the  past  five  years  in  the  Moslem  world  for  the  hastening 
of  His  kingdom. 


An  Introductory  Survey  23 

More  surprising  and  sudden  than  the  transformations 
by  Aladdin's  lamp  in  the  "Arabian  Nights"  have  been, 
not  the  fictitious,  but  the  real  and  stupendous  changes 
which  God's  Spirit  and  God's  providence  have  wrought 
in  Western  Asia.  Instead  of  universal  espionage, 
freedom ;  instead  of  despotism,  constitutions  and  parlia- 
ments ;  instead  of  a  press  that  was  gagged  and  throttled, 
a  free  press  j  instead  of  a  grinding  system  of  passports 
and  permits,  free  emigration  and  immigration  all  over 
Persia  and  Arabia  and  Turkey ;  instead  of  banishment, 
amnesty  ;  and  instead  of  despotism  ruling  in  the  capitals 
against  the  rights  of  the  people  and  crushing  them  down, 
Abd  ul  Hamid  a  prisoner  at  Salonica  and  parliaments 
sitting  in  Teheran  and  in  Constantinople.  The  great 
army  of  spies,  numbering  forty  thousand  and  said  to  cost 
two  million  pounds  a  year,  has  been  abolished,  and  the 
peoples  of  Turkey  and  Persia,  blindfolded,  gagged  and 
manacled  for  centuries,  were  almost  delirious  with  new- 
found liberty.  The  Damascus  Bail  way  has  reached 
Medina,  and  electric  lights  are  burn  ing  over  the  prophet's 
tomb. 

Turkey,  Persia  and  Arabia,  the  three  great  Moslem 
lands  of  the  nearer  East,  have  experienced  greater  indus- 
trial, intellectual,  social  and  religious  changes  within  the 
past  four  years  than  befell  them  in  the  last  four  centuries. 
Nevertheless,  some  wise  statesmen  and  most  thoughtful 
missionaries  are  agreed  that  nothing  has  ended  in  Turkey 
or  in  Persia ;  but  something  has  begun  in  those  lands 
which  every  eye  is  strained  to  understand.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  speak  of  these  changes  in  detail,  to  indicate 
how  in  many  respects  there  has  been  a  decided  reaction, 
or  to  forecast  the  future,  but  the  leaders  of  the  Moslem 
world  themselves  realize  that  these  changes  have  been  so 
extraordinary  that  they  indicate  a  new  era  for  all  West- 
ern Asia  and  North  Africa. 


24  Islam  and  Missions 

Constitutional  government  in  Persia  and  Turkey,  if 
successful  even  to  the  least  degree,  will  make  the  ideas 
and  ideals  of  democracy  contagious  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  Moslem  world.  A  significant 
and  surprising  editorial  recently  appeared  in  a  leading 
Moslem  newspaper  of  Constantinople,  from  which  we 
quote : 


"The  Moslem  world  is  in  the  throes  of  a  regeneration 
which  will  affect  its  social  as  well  as  its  political  condi- 
tions, and  indirectly  must  concern  its  ecclesiastical  af- 
fairs. It  will  undoubtedly  have  the  same  influence  that 
the  reformation  of  Luther  and  the  French  revolution  had 
upon  society  and  culture.  The  dethronement  of  three 
absolute  monarchs  in  three  independent  Moslem  states  is 
a  novel  chapter  in  the  history  of  Islam,  and  calls  for 
grave  reflection  by  the  adherents  of  that  faith.  The 
social  and  economic  affairs  of  a  nation,  as  well  as  its 
religion,  are  closely  allied  to  its  politics,  and  there  cannot 
be  serious  disturbance  in  one  without  having  a  great  in- 
fluence upon  the  others.  It  means  either  decay  or  prog- 
ress, because  there  is  no  such  thing  as  rest  or  stagnation 
in  society.  The  human  race  cannot  remain  in  repose.  It 
must  either  advance  or  go  backward. 

"This  suggests  a  thorough  inquiry  into  the  conditions 
of  Islam  ;  whether  the  material  advancement  of  the  infidel 
nations  has  shaken  the  faith  of  Mussulmans  in  the  wisdom 
and  ability  of  their  leaders,  and  has  caused  them  to  fol- 
low the  lights  of  intelligence  and  learning  that  science 
has  given  to  Europe  and  America,  leaving  Asia  in  partial 
darkness.  The  first  thing  for  the  people  of  Turkey,  Persia 
and  Morocco  to  do  is  to  consider  their  own  regeneration 
and  get  ready  to  take  part  in  the  advancement  of  civiliza- 
tion which  is  irresistible.  If  the  teachers  of  the  faith  do 
not  acknowledge  the  necessity  of  such  progress,  their 
followers  will  doubtless  break  away  and  leave  them  be- 
hind. The  period  of  decadence  of  Islam  has  ended  with 
the  deposition  of  the  three  absolute  monarchies,  and  here- 
after there  can  be  no  tardy  or  indifferent  recognition  of 
the  inevitable  without  sharing  their  fate." 


An  Introductory  Survey  25 

Such  words,  appearing  in  the  leading  journal  of  the 
political  capital  of  Islam,  ar,e  full  of  significance  to  the 
Church  of  God,  especially  as  every  statement  of  the 
editorial  is  borne  out  by  news  from  different  parts  of  the 
Moslem  world.  There  never  was  such  unrest,  politically, 
socially  and  spiritually,  in  Moslem  lands  as  there  is  to- 
day, and,  on  the  other  hand,  this  very  unrest  is  accom- 
panied by  a  new  sense  of  solidarity  and  an  attempt  to 
unify  the  disintegrating  forces  of  Islam. 

The  Mohammedans  of  Eussia  are  not  only  pleading  for 
greater  recognition  in  the  Duma,  but  are  organizing 
societies  of  reform  and  progress  and  working  for  pan- 
Islamism  through  the  press.  On  February  16,  1910,  the 
first  mosque  in  St.  Petersburg  was  opened  with  a  great 
Moslem  festival.  The  Emir  of  Bokhara  contributed  the 
site  and  paid  for  the  cost  of  construction  of  the  handsome 
edifice.  He  also  took  part  in  the  ceremonies,  which  were 
attended  by  the  Turkish  Embassy  and  the  Persian  Lega- 
tion. The  facts  that  the  chief  mulla  offered  prayer  for  the 
welfare  of  the  Czar,  to  which  the  Moslem  population 
loyally  responded,  and  that  the  Emir  and  his  suite  were 
entertained  at  the  royal  palace,  both  show  that  Islam  in 
Eussia  is  becoming  more  and  more  an  established  religion. 

The  new  Nationalist  Party  in  Egypt,  through  the 
preferential  instead  of  the  impartial  treatment  of  Moslems 
by  the  British  government,  have  everywhere  kindled  the 
fanaticism  of  unrest  and  the  desire  of  independence. 
This  spurious  form  of  nationalism,  in  the  judgment  of 
veteran  missionaries  and  such  unprejudiced  witnesses  as 
Col.  Theodore  Eoosevelt  and  Dr.  Alfred  J.  Butler,  is 
thoroughly  Mohammedan  in  its  character.  In  the  mouth 
of  the  new  Nationalist  Party  "  Egypt  for  the  Egyptians  " 
means  Egypt  for  the  Moslems,  and  its  fatal  corollary 
must  be  oppression  for  the  Christians.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  British  policy  in  Egypt  will  soon  be  radically 


26  Islam  and  Missions 

altered,  and  that  real  neutrality  may  prove  the  strength 
of  British  rule  and  the  blessing  of  Egypt. 

The  spirit  of  revolution,  as  in  Turkey  and  in  Egypt, 
has  begun  to  work  in  Malaysia.  A  Young  Javanese 
Party  has  been  formed  among  the  educated  Moslems  in 
Java.  It  calls  itself  Bondi  OutomOj  or  the  Universal 
League.  Its  programme  includes  home  rule,  educational 
reform,  and  social  progress.  They  have  translated  the 
Koran  into  the  vernacular.  The  first  congress  of  these 
Young  Javanese  was  held  over  two  years  ago  at  Djok- 
jakarta, and  among  other  questions  discussed  were,  the 
Education  of  Women,  Freedom  of  the  Press,  and  Self- 
Government. 

While  the  rebellions  of  the  last  century  greatly  crippled 
the  Moslem  cause  in  China,  the  recent  though  fruitless 
attempts  to  establish  Turkish  consulates  for  the  protec- 
tion of  Moslem  interests  there,  and  the  publication  at 
Tokyo  of  a  quarterly  magazine  in  Chinese  entitled 
Moslems  Awake,  for  circulation  throughout  the  Chinese 
Empire,  as  well  as  the  English  paper  published  by  two 
Moslems  from  Egypt  and  India  at  Tokyo,  are  indications 
of  a  pan-Islamic  activity  which  need  no  comment. 

The  capture  of  Wadai  by  French  troops  about  a  year 
ago  is,  in  one  sense,  the  most  significant  political  event 
along  the  entire  horizon.  By  this  campaign  the  chief 
African  centre  of  the  slave  trade  and  of  Moslem  propa- 
gandism  against  civilization  and  European  rule  has  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  a  European  power,  will  be  held  by  them 
at  all  costs  and  can  no  longer  be  used  as  a  base  of  opera- 
tions for  war  against  Christian  governments.  The  in- 
fluence of  the  Senusiye  dervishes  has  doubtless  diminished 
in  the  Eastern  Sudan  and  the  Sahara,  politically,  although 
this  does  not  mean  that  the  commercial  and  colonizing 
advance  of  Islam  has  been  checked. 

In  the  year  of  our  Lord  1911,  only  37,128,800  Moslems 


An  Introductory  Survey  27 

are  living  under  direct  Moslem  rule,  namely  :  under  the 
Turkish  government,  15,528,800  ;  under  the  Sultan  of 
Morocco,  5,600,000;  under  the  Emir  of  Afghanistan, 
4,500,000  j  under  the  Shah  of  Persia,  8,000,000  j  and  un- 
der independent  rulers  in  Arabia,  outside  the  Turkish 
Empire,  3,500,000.  Once  Moslem  empire  was  coexten- 
sive with  the  Moslem  faith.  In  911  A.  D.  the  caliphate 
included  Spain,  Morocco,  Algeria,  Tunis,  Tripoli,  Egypt, 
Asia  Minor,  Syria,  Arabia,  Persia,  Turkestan,  Afghan- 
istan, Baluchistan,  and  the  region  around  the  Caspian 
Sea.  To-day  the  empire  of  the  caliphs  has  shrunk  to 
such  small  proportions  that  it  covers  only  Turkey, 
Tripoli,  and  scarcely  one-fifth  of  the  area  of  Arabia,  in- 
cluding a  population  of  less  than  16, 000, 000.  The  balance 
of  political  power  in  the  Mohammedan  world  rests  with 
England,  France,  Eussia  and  the  Netherlands.  Each  of 
these  powers  has  more  Moslem  subjects  than  there  are  in 
the  whole  Turkish  Empire.  In  regard  to  the  remaining 
states  under  independent  Moslem  rule,  it  does  not  re- 
quire the  gift  of  prophecy  to  see  yet  greater  political 
changes,  with  the  possible  result  of  adding  still  more 
millions  to  the  number  of  Moslems  under  Christian  rule 
and  to  the  burden  of  responsibility  thrust  upon  Christian 
rulers  by  God's  providence  for  the  evangelization  of  His 
Moslem  world. 

We  turn  next  to  the  social  and  intellectual  movements 
in  the  Moslem  world  since  the  Cairo  Conference. 

III.  SOCIAL  AND  INTELLECTUAL  MOVEMENTS 
The  one  great  characteristic  of  the  Moslem  world  to-day 
is  unrest.  Like  the  prodigal  son  in  the  parable,  Islam  is 
coming  to  itself  and  is  becoming  conscious  of  its  need. 
Three  great  movements  in  the  Moslem  world  at  the 
present  time  are  all  of  them  indicative  of  this  unrest — 
the  development  of  the  great  dervish  orders,  the  growth 


28  Islam  and  Missions 

of  the  pan-Islamic  spirit,  and  the  attempt  of  the  new 
Islam  to  rationalize  the  old  orthodoxy — all  of  them  due 
to  the  same  cause,  namely,  the  readj  ustment  of  Islam  to 
the  progress  of  modern  thought  and  Western  civilization, 
either  by  way  of  protest  and  defiance,  or  of  accommodation 
and  compromise.  As  Ismael  Bey  Gasprinsky  expressed 
it  in  the  Tartar  paper  Terjumeny  * '  The  world  is  con- 
stantly changing  and  progressing,  and  the  Moslems  are 
left  behind  for  many,  many  miles.  We  need  to  create  a 
general  awakening  of  the  hitherto  sleeping  Mohammed- 
ans." Or  in  the  words  of  Sheikh  Ali  Yusef,  the  editor  of 
the  leading  Moslem  journal  in  Cairo,  before  a  large  as- 
sembly of  Moslems,  "The  Christians  have  left  the  Mo- 
hammedans behind  in  every  walk  of  life.  The  latter  can 
hardly  boast  the  possession  of  a  single  steamship  or  bank, 
because  the  Moslem  is  not  alive  to  his  duty,  is  not  united 
in  his  endeavour,  and  is  too  content  to  follow  a  leader 
without  attempting  to  rise  to  the  same  place  as  the  other 
nations."  Similar  voices  are  heard  in  India  from  time 
to  time. 

We  shall  hear  more  of  these  social  and  intellectual 
movements  in  Islam  when  they  are  specially  dealt  with 
on  the  fifth  day  of  our  Conference,  but  a  general  survey 
of  the  Moslem  world  must  make  mention  of  some  of 
them.  Beginning  with  Western  Asia,  we  find  a  move- 
ment which  can  broadly  be  described  as  one  towards 
freedom,  first  political  and  then  intellectual,  yet  it  is 
worthy  of  remark  that  the  revolutionary  parties  both  in 
Persia  and  Turkey  were  at  first  not  anti-Islamic  nor  pan- 
Islamic,  neither  professedly  religious  nor  irreligious  in 
character.  They  were  the  voice  of  the  people  crying  for 
liberty,  and  the  expression  of  general  social  discontent. 
For  many  years  the  better  class  of  Persians,  Turks  and 
Arabs  had  freely  acknowledged  the  ignorance,  injustice 
and  weakness  of  the  Moslem  world,  and  were  groping 


An  Introductory  Survey  29 

for  a  remedy.  The  fuel  was  ready  in  the  educated  classes 
who  had  learned  to  think.  The  American  missionaries 
helped  to  wake  up  Turkey.  The  victory  of  Japan  over 
Eussia  had  its  influence  throughout  all  Asia  and  proved 
to  Turkey  and  Persia,  at  least  to  their  own  satisfaction, 
that  Asiatics  can  hold  their  own  against  Europe,  and  that 
a  new  nationalism  is  the  only  remedy  against  threatened 
foreign  occupation.  The  question  then  arose,  How  shall 
the  new  nationalism  deal  with  the  old  religion  ? 

The  brief  history  of  constitutional  government  in 
Persia,  and  the  reaction  which  has  already  begun  in 
Turkey  prove  the  reality  and  the  intensity  of  this  coming 
conflict.  The  Persian  Constitution  was  ready  for  adop- 
tion when  the  leaders  were  compelled  to  preface  the  doc- 
ument with  an  article  accepting  the  authority  of  the 
religious  law  of  Islam  as  final,  including  the  traditional 
law  of  Shiah  interpretation,  as  well  as  the  Koran.  "  One 
might  as  well  bind  together  the  American  Constitution 
and  the  Talmud,"  says  Dr.  Shedd,  "  and  make  the  latter 
supreme  and  inviolable."  It  has  yet  to  be  proved,  ac- 
cording to  Lord  Cromer  in  his  "  Modern  Egypt," 
whether  Islam  can  assimilate  civilization  without  suc- 
cumbing in  the  process;  his  belief  is  that  "Reformed 
Islam  is  Islam  no  longer." 

The  great  political  question  in  Persia,  Turkey,  Egypt 
and  Algiers  to-day  is  simply  whether  the  old  Koran  or 
the  new  democratic  aspirations  shall  have  the  right  of 
way.  Although  the  Sheikh-el-Islam  has  publicly  de- 
clared that  "The  Turkish  Parliament  is  the  most  exact 
application  of  the  Koranic  law,  and  constitutional  gov- 
ernment is  the  highest  possible  illustration  of  the  cali- 
phate," we  have  a  right  to  doubt  his  assertion — remem- 
bering Adana  and  the  thirteen  centuries  of  Moslem 
intolerance  and  despotism.  Those  who  read  the  Koran 
in  Morocco,  Eastern  Turkey  and  Arabia  have  not  yet 


30  Islam  and  Missions 

discovered  its  constitutional  principles,  and  the  reaction 
against  the  new  Sultan  and  the  new  parliament  is  already 
deep  and  wide-spread.  One  of  the  prominent  dailies  in 
Cairo  was  lately  advocating  the  restoration  of  Abd  ul 
Hamid,  while  in  Yemen  a  new  Mahdi  has  appeared, 
whose  followers  number  twenty -five  thousand  and  who  is 
overrunning  the  province.  He  preaches  the  old  religion  ; 
by  his  authority  liars  are  punished  by  the  pulling  out  of 
the  tongue  and  thieves  by  the  amputation  of  the  hand. 

The  conflict  between  the  old  and  the  Young  Turkish 
Party  is  not  only  inevitable,  but  is  irreconcilable.  Both 
parties  are  animated  by  the  same  patriotism,  but  their 
ideals  are  wholly  different  and  contradictory.  For  the 
Old  Turks  Islam  is  an  end  j  for  the  New  Turks  it  is  not 
an  end,  but  only  a  means.  The  New  Turks  are  hoping 
to  put  the  new  wine  into  the  old  bottles  by  carefully  di- 
luting it,  while  the  Old  Turks  have  no  use  for  the  new 
wine  at  all.  In  the  present  Turkish  Parliament  out  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty-six  members,  two  hundred  and 
thirteen  are  Moslems,  and  it  would  be  safe  to  say  that 
those  who  are  true  believers  are  opposed  to  radical  reform 
and  will  fight  to  the  end  to  make  Islam  the  only  religion 
of  the  state.  Dr.  Martin  Hartmann,  who  is  surely  an 
unprejudiced  witness,  sees  no  future  for  a  reformed  Islam 
in  Turkey.1 

The  clash  of  modern  civilization  with  the  teachings  of 
Islam  is  evident  on  every  hand.  When  it  was  proposed 
to  adopt  the  Gregorian  calendar  and  European  time  for 
Turkey,  the  clerical  party  made  such  an  uproar  that  the 
President  of  the  Chamber  was  compelled  to  leave  the 
House  and  the  motion  was  withdrawn.  So  the  days  con- 

*In  his  recent  book  he  says:  "  Bei  den  TurJcen  tritt  an  Stelle  des 
Islams  ein  Nichts,  Kopf  und  Herz  sind  leer.  Die  Osmanlis  sind  keine 
Stutze  des  Islams  den  sie  auserlich  vertreten  denn  aie  tntbehren  selbst  der 
Stuize." . 


An  Introductory  Survey  31 

tinue  to  begin  at  sunset  and  watches  must  be  reset  every 
day  because  of  the  Koran.  The  new  railway  to  Mecca  is 
fitted  up  with  a  chapel  car  in  the  shape  of  a  mosque. 
This  car  allows  pilgrims  to  perform  their  devotions  dur- 
ing the  journey  and  has  a  minaret  six  feet  high.  Around 
the  sides  are  verses  from  the  Koran  ;  a  chart  at  one  end 
indicates  the  direction  of  prayer,  and  at  the  other  end  are 
vessels  for  the  ritual  ablutions.  But  the  orthodox  Arabs 
do  not  consider  such  prayer  de  luxe  in  accord  with  Mo- 
hammed's teachings  and  are  tearing  up  the  railway  !  As 
long  as  Mohammed  and  his  teachings  are  the  ideals  of 
conduct  and  the  standard  of  character  there  must  be  this 
clash  between  modern  civilization  and  the  unchangeable 
standards  of  Arabian  medievalism.  If  it  is  impossible  as 
it  seems  to  change  the  curriculum  of  El  Azhar  University 
in  Cairo  without  a  riot,  will  that  institution  or  Christian 
colleges  control  the  future  thought  of  Western  Asia! 
Or  to  take  another  illustration  :  A  large  section  of  the 
Egyptian  press  defended  the  conduct  of  the  Sultan  of 
Morocco  in  his  mutilation  of  prisoners  against  the  protest 
of  European  consulates,  because  they  said  it  was  in  full 
accord  with  the  religious  law  of  Islam.  The  wind  blew 
from  the  opposite  quarter  when  a  committee  of  Young 
Turks  protested  against  the  Vali  of  Salonica  because  of 
his  "excessive  zeal  in  enforcing  the  state  religion  in  the 
matter  of  the  use  of  the  veil  and  the  observance  of  the 
month  of  fasting.  While  the  official  pronouncement  of 
the  Grand  Mufti  in  the  case  of  Wardani,  the  murderer  of 
Boutros  Pasha,  seemed  to  indicate  that  even  in  the  in- 
tellectual capital  of  the  Moslem  world  jurisprudence  can 
make  no  progress,  but  is  tied  to  the  procrtistean  bed  of 
Tradition  and  the  Koran. 

The  modernist  movement,  as  Mr.  Gairdner  showed  in 
his  address  at  the  Edinburgh  Conference,  touches  every 
Moslem  who  receives  education  on  Western  lines,  whether 


32  Islam  and  Missions 

in  Java,  India,  Persia  or  Egypt,  and  compels  him  to 
adopt  a  new  theology  and  a  new  philosophy  and  new 
social  standards,  or  give  up  his  religion  altogether.  How 
far  the  advocates  of  the  new  Islam  go  in  throwing  over- 
board their  cargo  to  save  the  ship  is  illustrated  in  the 
book  "The  Truth  about  Islam,"  just  published  at  Cairo 
by  Dr.  Muhammad  Badr,  a  graduate  of  Edinburgh 
University.  No  orthodox  Moslem  would  recognize  his 
presentation  of  Islam  as  the  same  religion  which  he 
professes.  The  stories  of  the  Koran  to  him  are  only  alle- 
gories or  rhetorical  devices,  "read  literally  they  are  in- 
credible" ;  and  again  he  says,  "the  Koran  must  be  re- 
garded in  the  light  of  pure  reason  and  modern  science." 
It  will  prove  a  hard  task  for  him  and  others  of  the  new 
Islam  school  to  rationalize  Surat  el  Kahaf  or  Surat  en- 
Nisa! 

The  enormous  increase  and  activity  of  Moslem  journal- 
ism and  the  Moslem  press  in  all  the  chief  centres  of  the 
Moslem  world  is  also  an  indication  of  intellectual  and 
social  unrest.  When  freedom  was  proclaimed  in  Persia 
and  Turkey,  newspapers  sprang  up  like  mushrooms, 
and  nearly  all  of  them  were  advocates  of  liberty,  equality 
and  freedom.  In  Teheran  the  names  of  the  journals 
themselves  were  startling.  Newsboys  cried  out  their  wares 
and  sold  copies  of  The  Assembly,  The  Holy  Spirit,  Civiliza- 
tion, The  Cry  of  the  Country,  The  True  Dawn,  Progress, 
and  Knowledge.  The  Revue  du  Monde  Musulman  pub- 
lished a  list  of  no  less  than  four  hundred  and  seventy-four 
newspapers  and  magazines  which  had  been  issued  in 
Turkey  since  July  24,  1908,  the  birthday  of  liberty. 
The  old  order  of  the  press  seemed  gone.  But  censorship, 
which  had  ceased  for  a  time  in  Turkey,  is  again  being 
exercised  by  the  Young  Turks,  and  while  the  Moderate 
Party  edits  a  paper  called  The  Constitution,  in  Paris, 
which  is  forbidden  entrance  in  Turkey,  some  of  the  lead- 


An  Introductory  Survey  33 

ing  papers  in  the  provinces  are  already  the  mouthpiece 
of  intolerance  and  show  a  sullen  attitude  towards  Chris- 
tianity and  reform.  They  assert  that  the  Constitution  is 
destructive  of  the  sacred  law  of  Mohammed.  One  has 
only  to  read  the  articles  that  appear  in  the  Moslem  press 
of  Java,  Persia,  Eussia,  India,  Turkey  and  Egypt,  dis- 
cussing such  questions  as  the  position  of  womanhood,  the 
use  of  the  veil,  polygamy,  slavery,  or  the  Mecca  Bail- 
way,  to  be  convinced  that  in  spite  of  outward  unity  the 
Moslem  world  of  thought  is  rent  by  dissension  and  dis- 
cord. 

According  to  William  E.  Curtis,  a  newspaper  corre- 
spondent, the  Moslem  religion  has  fallen  into  disuse  in 
the  Turkish  Empire  among  the  educated  classes.  "  The 
doctrines  of  the  Koran  are  considered  incompatible  with 
modern  progress.  Atheism  is  growing,  the  pilgrimages 
to  Mecca  are  falling  off,  and  notwithstanding  the  loyalty 
of  the  common  people  to  their  faith,  the  material  condi- 
tion of  the  mosques  and  sacred  places  is  about  as  low  as 
their  spiritual  condition.  The  tendency  seems  to  be  to 
drift  away  not  only  from  Islam,  but  from  all  religion.'7 
The  call  for  a  pan-Islamic  Congress  at  Cairo  this  year  has 
met  with  little  response,  as  far  as  we  can  learn.  He  says, 
"  As  far  as  I  can  learn,  it  will  be  as  difficult  to  modern- 
ize Islam  as  it  would  be  to  galvanize  the  mummy  of 
Pharaoh. "  There  is  not  the  least  doubt  that  tens  of 
thousands  of  Moslems  in  Turkey  and  Persia,  and  even  in 
Arabia,  are  intellectually  convinced  of  the  truth  of 
Christianity  over  against  Islam.  The  philosophical  dis- 
integration of  Islam,  which  began  in  Persia  by  the  rise  of 
Moslem  sects,  is  now  being  hastened  through  newspaper 
discussions.  The  attack  on  orthodox  Mohammedanism 
was  never  so  keen  or  strong  on  the  part  of  any  missionary 
as  has  been  the  recent  attack  from  those  inside  Islam. 

In  Russia  the  new  Islam  is  rapidly  creating  a  new 


34  Islam  and  Missions 

literature  by  translations  and  adaptations.  A  Tartar 
translation  of  " Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  has  just  been 
printed,  and  the  Moslem  newspapers  at  Baku  earnestly 
contend  that  it  is  possible  to  rationalize  Islam,  stating  that 
its  present  immobility  and  superstition  is  only  a  tempo- 
rary condition  which  does  not  characterize  it  any  more 
than  Catholic  superstitions,  the  Inquisition,  or  the  stake 
were  real  Christianity  in  the  Middle  Ages.  Islam,  ac- 
cording to  these  writers,  is  passing  through  a  revolution 
and  a  process  of  reform,  and  the  new  Islam  will  yet  rule 
the  world.  The  course  of  study  in  the  new  Islamic 
Moslem  schools  of  Eussia  includes  a  history  of  Islam, 
based  on  Dozy,  the  natural  sciences,  European  languages, 
psychology  and  hygiene,  as  well  as  the  Koran  and  Tradi- 
tions. 

The  religious  movements  in  Islam  to-day  are  radically 
progressive  or  retrogressive.  The  dervish  orders  and  the 
Mahdis  in  Somaliland,  Yemen  or  the  Sahara,  all  believe 
in  a  pan-Islamism  utterly  opposed  to  modern  civilization, 
and  their  cry  is  "Back  to  Mohammed."  The  advocates 
of  reform  in  Java  and  in  Persia,  the  preachers  of  the  new 
Islam  in  India,  and  the  nationalists  in  Egypt,  on  the  con- 
trary, are  trying  to  get  away  from  Mohammed  and  the 
early  standards  of  Arabian  civilization,  reject  most  of  the 
traditions  and  make  rationalism  the  basis  of  their  faith. 
According  to  them,  Mohammed  was  neither  immaculate 
nor  infallible.  Their  ideas  and  their  ideals  are  at  the  op- 
posite pole  of  orthodox  Islam. 

Islam  to-day  must  meet  a  new  crisis  in  its  history. 
The  disintegration  of  the  whole  system  is  rapidly  pro- 
ceeding and  may  result,  as  it  already  has,  in  the  rise  of 
new  sects,  or  in  an  attempt  to  rejuvenate  the  system  by 
abandoning  much  of  that  which  was  formerly  considered 
essential.  What  will  be  the  result  I  As  Dr.  William  A. 
Shedd  points  out:  " Islam  is  everywhere  coming  into 


An  Introductory  Survey  35 

close  contact  with  modern  thought  and  civilization.  It 
must  meet  these  changed  conditions  if  it  is  to  live,  and 
the  question  arises  whether  it  can  do  this  or  not."  Will 
it  be  possible  to  march  with  the  current  of  civilization 
and  continue  to  hold  the  teaching  of  the  Koran  and  the 
Traditions,  and  will  intellectual  and  social  progress  with- 
out a  religious  basis  ever  give  the  weary,  sinful,  sorrow- 
ing millions  of  Islam  spiritual  peace,  or  lift  Mohammedan 
womanhood  and  manhood  out  of  their  degradation  into 
the  glorious  inheritance  of  the  sons  of  God  ? 

IV.    CHANGED  ATTITUDE  IN  THE  HOME  CHURCHES 
TOWARDS  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

This  introductory  survey  of  the  Moslem  world  as  a 
missionary  problem  would  not  be  complete  if  it  did  Hot 
call  attention  to  the  marked  change  in  the  Churches  of 
Christendom  as  regards  missions  to  Mohammedans.  Dr. 
Eobert  E.  Speer  prepared  a  paper  for  the  Cairo  Confer- 
ence on  "  How  to  arouse  the  Church  at  home  to  the  needs 
of  Islam."  In  this  paper  he  said  that  the  assumption 
was  true  :  "  The  history  of  missionary  effort  for  Moslems 
in  the  past  is  largely  an  unread  history.  Eaymund 
LulFs  name  is  the  name  of  a  stranger.  Mohammedanism 
itself  is  a  mystery  to  the  average  Christian  in  America 
and  even  to  Christians  of  far  more  than  average  intelli- 
gence. They  have  never  read  the  Koran.  They  do  not 
know  what  Mohammed  taught.  Popular  ideas  of  Moslem 
lands  and  people  are  grotesque  in  their  crude  ignorance. 
.  .  .  In  addition  to  great  general  ignorance  about 
Mohammedanism  and  the  Mohammedan  lands  the  im- 
pression prevails  that  Islam  is  the  next  best  religion  to 
Christianity  in  its  knowledge  of  God,  and  that  its  adher- 
ents are  so  devoted  to  it  as  to  be  unconvertible  to  the 
Christian  faith."  There  is  no  doubt  that  his  statement 
summed  up  the  situation.  He  went  on  to  point  out  the 


36  Islam  and  Missions 

causes  of  this  general  ignorance  and  lack  of  interest.  As 
the  chief  cause  he  mentioned  the  embargo  laid  upon  home 
workers  by  missionaries  among  the  Mohammedans.  The 
Church  was  ignorant  of  the  facts  in  the  case  because  she 
was  kept  in  ignorance.  The  second  reason  which  he 
gave  why  the  Church  at  home  was  not  aroused  was  : 
'  *  The  missions  on  the  field  are  not  aroused  to  the  im- 
mediate duty  and  urgency  of  this  work  ;  "  and  the  third 
reason  he  suggested  was  the  lack  of  missionary  books 
dealing  with  the  Moslem  problem. 

The  Cairo  Conference  marked  a  new  era  in  Moslem 
evaDgelization  because  it  removed  the  embargo,  em- 
boldened workers  to  present  the  facts,  kindled  their 
faith,  and  gave  to  many  the  pen  of  ready  writers  to  set 
the  facts  and  the  appeal  before  the  home  Churches.  The 
Cairo  Conference  itself  indeed  was  held  with  apprehen- 
sion on  the  part  of  some  who  were  reluctant  members  of 
it,  and  who  feared  the  publication  of  any  of  its  proceed- 
ings. There  were  those  who  hesitated  to  identify  them- 
selves with  the  Conference  for  fear  the  opposition  of 
Moslem  governments  might  thereby  be  aroused  ;  but  no 
such  results  followed.  On  the  contrary,  the  Christian 
world  has  been  awakened  as  never  before  to  the  absolute 
need  of  taking  in  its  sweep  the  activities  of  the  Moslem 
world,  and  the  sin  and  shame  of  long  neglect  and  igno- 
rance have,  in  a  marked  degree,  been  acknowledged  and 
put  away. 

The  startling  political  events  which  succeeded  each 
other  with  marvellous  rapidity  in  Western  Asia  and 
North  Africa  since  the  Cairo  Conference  (were  they  a  re- 
sult of  its  volume  of  prayer  ?)  have  no  doubt  had  their  in- 
fluence also  in  calling  attention  to  the  problem.  News- 
papers, periodicals  and  reviews  were  full  of  articles  in 
regard  to  the  Turkish  revolution,  Persian  nationalism, 
Egyptian  unrest,  and  pan- Islam isin  in  its  relation  to 


An  Introductory  Survey  37 

international  politics.  All  these  furnished  the  occasion, 
but  the  Cairo  Conference  gave  the  inspiration  to  mission- 
aries, and  they  in  their  turn  interpreted  these  events  and 
aroused  the  Church  to  the  needs  of  the  Moslem  world. 
The  first  and  second  volume  of  papers  read  at  the  Cairo 
Conference  introduced  a  new  flood  of  literature  on  the 
subject.  Mission  study  classes  took  up  the  theme.  The 
Central  Committee  on  the  United  Study  of  Missions  in 
America  published  a  volume  on  "  The  Nearer  and 
Farther  East,"  of  which  over  45,000  copies  were  used  in 
their  study  classes.  The  symposium  entitled  "Our 
Moslem  Sisters,'7  and  consisting  of  papers  prepared  in 
connection  with  the  Cairo  Conference,  had  a  large  cir- 
culation passing  through  three  editions  and  was  translated 
into  Danish,  Swedish  and  German.  The  Student  Volun- 
teer Movement  text-book  on  Islam  was  used  throughout 
the  colleges  in  America,  and  was  translated  into  German, 
French  and  Danish.  A  similar  text- book  prepared  by 
Mr.  Gairdner  is  being  widely  used  among  the  students  of 
Great  Britain  and  Australasia  ;  it  has  also  been  translated 
into  Dutch.  The  Young  People's  Missionary  Movement 
of  America  sold  over  50,000  copies  of  their  text-book 
"  The  Moslem  World."  All  of  these  were  not  read  but 
studied. 

In  addition  to  these  popular  text-books  on  the  subject, 
which  brought  the  whole  problem  within  the  compass  of 
a  single  volume,  a  score  of  other  books  have  been  written 
by  missionaries  since  the  Cairo  Conference,  setting  forth 
special  aspects  of  the  subject,  or  appealing  to  the  Church 
to  meet  the  needs  of  Moslem  lands.  Omitting  those 
published  in  Danish,  Dutch,  German  and  French  (a  list 
of  which  can  be  found  in  Volume  VI  of  the  Edinburgh 
Conference  Report),  we  would  call  attention  to  the  fol- 
lowing in  English:  Klein,  "The  Eeligion  of  Islam"  ; 
Canon  Sell,  "Religious  Orders  of  Islam  "  ;  Dr.  Wherry, 


38  Islam  and  Missions 

" Islam  and  Christianity  in  India  and  the  Far  East"  ; 
Dr.  Eichter,  "  History  of  Protestant  Missions  in  the 
Near  East7'  ;  Dr.  Jessup,  "  Fifty-Three  Years  in  Syria  77  j 
Dr.  Washburn,  "Fifty  Years  in  Constantinople77  ;  Dr. 
Wishard,  "  Twenty  Years  in  Persia77  ;  Mr.  Gairdner, 
"Life  of  Douglas  M.  Thornton77;  Dr.  Barton,  " Day- 
break in  Turkey77  ;  Reces,  "  Christian  Crusaders  of  the 
Twentieth  Century77  ;  Dr.  Kumm,  "The  Sudan'7  ;  Dr. 
Watson,  "In  the  Valley  of  the  Nile77  and  "Egypt  and 
the  Christian  Crusade 7*  ;  and,  last  but  not  least,  Marshall 
BroomhalFs  "Islam  in  China.77  The  last  volume  is 
typical  of  all  the  others  mentioned.  It  alone  would  mark 
a  distinct  step  in  the  progress  of  missionary  investigation 
of  the  Moslem  world.  It  is  the  first  book  of  its  character 
in  English.  Scientific,  critical,  and  based  on  thorough 
investigation,  it  gives  the  public  a  comprehensive  and 
readable  account  of  a  subject  concerning  which  most 
church- members  were  in  total  ignorance. 

Simultaneously  with  the  output  of  all  this  missionary 
literature  there  has  been  a  revival  of  interest  in  the 
problem  of  Islam  shown  by  the  secular  press,  which  is  as 
remarkable  as  it  is  significant  of  the  urgency  of  the 
problem.  A  new  exhaustive  Encyclopedia  of  Islam  is 
being  published  simultaneously  in  three  languages  by  a 
number  of  leading  Orientalists.  Authoritative  and 
scholarly  in  its  character,  with  carefully  prepared  bibli- 
ographies, this  work,  although  entirely  neutral  to  missions 
and  Christianity,  will  nevertheless  be  of  great  usefulness 
to  all  those  who  labour  among  Moslems.  The  French 
scientific  monthly,  Eevue  du  Monde  Musulman,  is  increas- 
ingly valuable  to  the  student  of  Islam,  not  only  because  of 
its  leading  articles  but  more  particularly  on  account  of  its 
careful  review  of  the  Moslem  press  ;  and  the  new  periodical 
started  in  Germany,  Der  Islam,  will  doubtless  aid  in 
arousing  the  Churches  of  Germany  to  the  seriousness  of 


An  Introductory  Survey  39 

the  problem  that  faces  them  in  the  Nearer  East  and  Ger- 
man East  Africa. 

The  changed  attitude  of  the  Church  towards  Islam  is 
evident  not  only  in  this  enormous  increase  in  the  output 
of  literature  on  the  subject,  but  also  in  the  place  Islam 
has  occupied  in  conferences  and  missionary  gatherings. 
Since  1906  the  Annual  Conference  of  Foreign  Mission 
Boards  of  the  United  States  and  Canada  have  appointed 
a  committee  on  the  Mohammedan  problem,  which  is  in- 
structed to  report  annually  in  order  to  "  call  attention  to 
the  special  preparation  and  training  needed  for  mission- 
aries among  Moslems,  and  to  arouse  the  Church  and  mis- 
sionary societies  to  the  needs  of  the  unoccupied  Moslem 
world  and  the  peril  of  Islam  in  certain  parts  of  Asia  and 
Africa. "  This  standing  committee  has  already  done 
much  in  this  direction.  A  special  conference  on  the 
Moslem  problem  has  been  held  since  Cairo  by  the  mis- 
sionary societies  of  Germany,  and  at  the  Edinburgh  Con- 
ference Islam,  although  not  represented  by  a  special 
Commission,  had  a  larger  place  than  at  any  previous 
world  conference.  (See  the  article  by  Dr.  Watson  in 
"  The  Moslem  World.") 

The  new  missionary  enterprise  of  the  American 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  North  Africa  has  aroused 
all  the  constituency  of  this  great  denomination  as  never 
before  to  the  extent  and  character  of  the  Moslem  problem. 
Other  societies  in  America,  Great  Britain  and  on  the 
Continent  have  set  apart  missionaries  for  special  training 
to  deal  with  this  problem  on  their  several  fields,  and 
some  societies  have  for  the  first  time  taken  up  work  among 
Moslems. 

The  results  of  the  Cairo  Conference  were  not  confined 
to  the  Churches  in  the  homeland,  but  are  evident  also  in 
a  measure  in  the  Oriental  Churches  and  the  Churches 
on  the  mission  field.  An  informal  conference,  for  ex- 


4-O  Islam  and  Missions 

ample,  recently  held  in  Beirut,  passed  the  following 
resolution : 

"(1)  That  direct  evangelistic  work  among  Moslems, 
which  has  been  going  on  quietly  for  several  decades  in 
Syria  and  Palestine,  is  more  than  ever  possible  to-day, 
whether  by  means  of  visiting,  conversation,  the  produc- 
tion and  careful  distribution  of  Christian  literature, 
Bible  circulation,  medical  missions,  and  boys'  and  girls' 
schools. 

"  (2)  That  the  promulgation  of  the  Constitution  has 
already,  in  the  more  enlightened  centres,  made  this  direct 
evangelistic  work  easier,  and  will,  we  trust,  as  the  consti- 
tutional principle  of  religious  equality  becomes  better 
understood  by  the  people,  make  it  increasingly  so.  And, 
on  the  other  hand,  we  are  face  to  face  with  a  Moham- 
medan educational  and  religious  revival  which  makes 
necessary  this  missionary  advance  if  the  prestige  gained 
in  the  past  is  to  be  preserved  and  increased. 

"  (3)  For  which  reasons  it  is  certain  that  the  time  has 
come  for  a  wisely  planned  and  carefully  conducted  and 
intensely  earnest  forward  move  in  work  among  Moslems 
in  Syria  and  Palestine,  and  the  attention  of  all  the  so- 
cieties already  working  in  the  field  is  to  be  directed 
towards  immediately  making  that  forward  move." 

In  a  similar  way  the  missionary  societies  in  Egypt  are 
cooperating  to  stir  the  Protestant  and  Coptic  Churches  to 
love  their  Moslem  brethren  and  labour  for  their  evangeli- 
zation, and  two  successive  conferences  of  converts  from 
Islam  have  been  successfully  held  at  Zeitoun. 

The  changed  attitude  of  the  Church  at  home  is  evident, 
moreover,  in  the  large  number  of  student  volunteers  who 
are  offering  themselves  for  service  in  Moslem  lands  j 
they  have  been  specially  attracted  by  the  difficulties  of 
the  problem,  the  new  opportunities  in  the  lands  so 
recently  awakened,  and  the  vast  populations  and  un- 
touched areas  of  the  unoccupied  Moslem  world. 

Finally  we  rejoice  to  note  the  changed  attitude  towards 


An  Introductory  Survey  41 

the  Moslem  problem  in  increased  prayer.  There  have 
always  been  those  who  prayed  for  the  Moslem  world, 
hoping  against  hope,  dauntless  in  faith,  and  believing  the 
impossible,  but,  especially  since  the  Cairo  Conference, 
lonely  workers  in  distant  outposts  have,  by  their  lives 
and  their  lips,  or  by  words  in  print  (for  example,  the 
apostolic  messages  of  Miss  Trotter  from  Algiers,  Miss 
Holliday  from  Tabriz,  or  Hogberg  from  Kashgar),  awak- 
ened a  great  volume  of  intelligent  prayer  whose  potency 
only  God  can  measure.  Prayer  circles  and  prayer  cycles 
for  the  Moslem  world  will  do  for  it  what  prayer  has  done 
in  the  opening  of  all  the  Chinese  Provinces  or  the  pene- 
tration of  Africa. 

The  Church  is  awakening  at  last  to  its  duty  towards 
Islam.  "Who  will  keep  the  Church  awake,"  in  the 
words  of  Mr.  Speer,  "  unless  it  be  those  who  have  heard 
the  challenge  of  Islam,  who  are  going  out  against  her, 
and  have  found  her  armour  decayed,  her  weapons  anti- 
quated, and  her  children,  though  proud  and  reticent, 
still  unhappy,  stationary  and  retrogressive  in  a  day  of 
progress  and  life." 

CONCLUSION 

"We  conclude  our  survey  by  emphasizing  once  more,  on 
the  evidence  of  all  these  facts,  the  unity,  the  opportunity 
and  the  importunity  of  the  Moslem  world  problem  to-day, 
as  well  as  the  willingness  of  the  Church,  when  aroused  by 
its  missionaries,  to  respond  to  its  appeal.  No  other 
work  on  the  mission  field  can  be  presented  from  so  many 
divergent  angles  of  interest  as  the  great,  dark,  despairing, 
defiant,  desperate  Moslem  world.  Lucknow  is  a  moun- 
tain top  of  vision  second  not  even  to  Cairo.  As  our  eyes 
sweep  the  horizon  of  all  these  lauds  dominated  or  im- 
perilled by  this  great  rival  faith,  each  seems  to  stand  out 
as  typical  of  one  of  the  factors  in  the  great  problem. 


42  Islam  and  Missions 

Morocco  (one  of  the  dark  places  in  the  world  to-day)  is 
typical  of  the  degradation  of  Islam  ;  Persia  of  its  disin- 
tegration ;  Arabia  of  its  stagnation  ;  Egypt  of  its  attempted 
^reformation  ;  China  shows  the  neglect  of  Islam  ;  Java,  the 
conversion  of  Islam  ;  India,  the  opportunity  to  reach  Islam  ; 
Equatorial  Africa,  its  peril.  Each  of  these  typical  con- 
ditions is  in  itself  an  appeal.  The  supreme  need  of  the 
Moslem  world  is  Jesus  Christ.  He  alone  can  give  light 
to  Morocco,  unity  to  Persia,  life  to  Arabia,  rebirth  to 
Egypt,  reach  the  neglected  in  China,  win  Malaysia,  meet 
the  opportunity  in  India,  and  stop  the  aggressive  peril 
in  Africa. 

With  all  there  is  of  encouragement  to  our  faith,  the 
problem  remains  big  and  baffling.  We  can  do  nothing 
of  ourselves  :  our  sufficiency  is  only  of  God.  "  Oh,  our 
God,  wilt  Thou  not  judge  them,  for  we  have  no  might 
against  this  great  company  that  cometh  against  us, 
neither  know  we  what  to  do,  but  our  eyes  are  upon  Thee." 
Amen. 


II 

PAN-ISLAMISM  IN  TUEKEY 
REV.  W.  S.  NELSON,  D.  D.,  SYRIA 

FEOM  the  beginning  of  its  history  in  Arabia  Islam 
has  been  an  imitative  religion.  The  best  that 
Mohammed  found,  in  fact  everything  that  was 
good  in  his  teachings,  was  borrowed  from  Christianity, 
and  the  rest  was  appropriated  with  little  or  no  change 
from  other  religious  cults,  or  from  the  heathenism  he  was 
supposed  to  displace. 

After  a  long  period  of  success  and  wide  advance  in 
every  direction  from  Mecca  :  after  the  sword  of  Islam 
had  subdued  nation  after  nation  in  Asia  and  Africa  and 
had  gained  a  foothold  in  Europe,  there  arose  the  first 
united  resistance  of  Christianity  that  Islam  had  encoun- 
tered. Heretofore  the  legions  of  Islam  had  attacked  and 
conquered  nations  as  such.  It  had  made  no  difference 
whether  the  national  faith  had  been  heathen  or  Christian, 
the  resistance  offered  had  been  a  national  resistance  and 
the  submission  had  been  that  of  a  ruling  sovereign.  The 
submission  always  involved  the  surrender  of  the  old 
faith,  and  a  formal  acceptance  of  Islam  with  the  avowal 
of  the  unity  of  God  and  the  validity  of  the  mission  of 
Mohammed. 

This  success  of  Islam  and  its  capture  of  the  sacred 
places  of  Christianity  furnished  the  motive  necessary  to 
unite  a  divided  Christendom  and  to  overcome  the  conflicts 
in  Europe  and  to  gather  the  great  armies  of  all  nations 
which  followed  each  other  in  the  wonderful  crusades  of 
the  Middle  Ages.  Whatever  we  may  say  of  the  folly  and 


44  Islam  and  Missions 

mismanagement,  the  petty  jealousies  and  conflict  among 
the  leaders,  the  useless  waste  of  life  and  treasure  involved, 
we  cannot  withhold  our  praise  for  the  loyalty  to  Christ 
and  sacrifice  for  Him  involved  in  those  unparallelled 
movements. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  here  to  discuss  the  crusades,  but 
merely  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  here  was  the  first 
instance  of  a  united  Christendom  attacking  Islam.  The 
crusades  did  not  exert  any  lasting  influence  on  the  ex- 
tent or  power  of  Islam,  but  they  furnished  a  lesson 
which  was  not  forgotten,  and  may  not  improperly  be  re- 
garded as  the  seed  from  which  the  idea  of  pan-Islamism 
grew.  If  Christendom  united  under  the  banner  of  the 
cross  and,  forgetting  their  national  divisions  and  rival- 
ries, strove  to  rescue  the  tomb  of  the  Crucified  from 
Islam,  why  should  not  all  Mohammedan  nations  lay  aside 
doctrinal  differences  and  national  distinctions  under  the 
banner  of  the  Crescent  to  carry  the  faith  of  Islam  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth  I 

It  may  well  be  believed  that  the  present  divergences  of 
faith  in  Islam,  the  national  jealousies  among  those  who 
accept  the  teachings  of  the  Arabian  prophet  are  too 
great  and  too  firmly  rooted  to  make  a  real  pan-Islamic 
movement  possible  or  permanently  effective.  Any  such 
union  would  fall  to  pieces  quickly  and  disappear  from 
view  as  did  the  crusades.  Still  the  existence  of  such  an 
idea  and  especially  its  dissemination  among  wild  and  un- 
civilized peoples  will  have  local  influence  that  may  lead 
to  serious  disturbances  and  may  produce  wide-reaching 
consequences  of  a  more  than  local  importance.  It  may 
not  be  possible  to  find  a  real,  vital,  unifying  principle  in 
Islam  that  will  ever  permanently  unite  Sunnis  and  Shiahs, 
or  permit  Turks  and  Persians,  Hindus  and  Moors  to 
work  and  fight  in  harmony  and  mutual  confidence. 
Still,  the  fact  that  all  ascribe  their  faith  to  Mohammed 


Pan-Islamism  in  Turkey  45 

and  give  their  religious  allegiance  to  him,  that  from  all 
these  Mohammedan  countries  devotees  flock  every  year 
in  the  holy  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  and  all  use  the  sacred 
water  of  Zemzem,  makes  an  external  bond  of  union  that 
gives  real  force  to  the  idea  of  pan-Islamism  and  makes  it 
a  subject  worthy  of  study  by  Christian  missionaries  and 
by  the  statesmen  and  rulers  of  Europe  and  Asia. 

The  situation  in  Turkey  differs  from  that  in  other  lands 
for  a  double  reason.  Mecca,  the  sacred  city  of  Islam,  is  in 
Turkish  territory,  and  the  Turkish  Sultan  claims  to  hold 
the  caliphate  as  a  legal  heritage  and  political  right. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  internal  situation  in  Turkey  is 
by  no  means  a  simple  one.  The  loyalty  accorded  to  the 
Sultan  as  ruler  of  the  empire  is  by  no  means  hearty  or 
united.  This  is  not  only  true  because  the  various  Chris- 
tian sects  dislike  to  yield  allegiance  to  a  Moslem  ruler, 
but  among  Moslems  themselves  there  is  a  very  general 
distrust,  and  especially  among  the  Arabic  speaking  peo- 
ples there  is  a  decided  unwillingness  to  remain  under  the 
domination  of  the  Turk,  who  is  regarded  justly  as  an 
interloper.  Add  to  this  the  distinctly  religious  hostility 
of  a  very  large  part  of  the  Mohammedan  subjects  of  the 
Turk,  who  hold  that  the  true  Caliph  can  only  be  an  Arab 
of  the  Koreish,  and  it  is  clear  that  internal  unity  in 
Turkey  needs  every  possible  support  from  the  outside. 
How  can  a  foreigner,  a  Turk,  who  has  gained  his  posi- 
tion by  military  conquest,  claim  to  hold  the  sacred  office 
of  Caliph,  as  a  successor  to  Mohammed  ?  At  any  time 
that  the  Arabs  had  the  strength  in  themselves  or  the  as- 
surance of  foreign  support,  this  unwelcome  Turkish  yoke 
would  be  thrown  off  and  the  Sherif  of  Mecca  would  be 
proclaimed  as  the  true  Caliph.  It  is  because  the  Turks 
are  aware  of  this  that  every  effort  is  made  to  honour  the 
annual  pilgrimage  and  keep  the  Arabs  in  good  humour 
and  not  to  press  them  too  hard  in  matters  of  political 


46  Islam  and  Missions 

allegiance  and  taxes.  The  extension  of  the  railroad  to 
the  "holy  territory  "  was  a  shrewd  move  on  the  part  of 
the  Turk  to  strengthen  the  bonds  which  unite  the  two  ex- 
tremes of  the  empire  both  politically  and  religiously. 
This,  however,  is  a  mechanical,  artificial  method  and  will 
not  permanently  unite  the  dissimilar  elements  involved. 

It  has  been  recognized  for  many  years  that  the  stability 
of  Turkey  depended  on  the  skillfully  fomented  disagree- 
ments among  the  Christian  powers  of  Europe  whose 
united  effort  would  destroy  Turkey.  The  consummate 
skill  of  the  former  Sultan  Abd  ul  Hamid  was  displayed, 
for  a  generation,  in  setting  one  power  off  against  another 
in  such  a  way  as  to  prevent  an  effective  union  among 
them.  The  same  policy  has  been  followed  in  the  internal 
administration  of  the  empire.  Every  effort  has  been 
made  systematically  to  foment  jealousy  and  hatred  among 
the  Christian  elements  of  the  population.  Never  were 
they  treated  as  independent,  individual  Ottoman  sub- 
jects but  always  through  the  heads  of  their  several  relig- 
ious communities,  so  that  the  citizen  was  never  the  unit, 
but  the  religious  sect  to  which  he  belonged.  Every  effort 
was  made  to  exaggerate  the  distinction  between  these 
sects,  and  one  was  played  off  against  the  other  just  as 
England  was  played  against  Eussia,  and  France  against 
Germany,  in  foreign  relations.  To  this  end,  it  was  never 
difficult  for  a  member  of  one  Christian  sect  to  be  trans- 
ferred to  another,  for  that  would  help  to  intensify  jealousy 
and  hostility  among  them.  It  was  also  no  difficulty  for  a 
Christian  to  secure  recognition,  welcome  and  a  stipend  if 
he  embraced  Islam, — but  woe  to  the  man  who  thought  of 
leaving  Islam  for  Christianity.  That  would  affect  the 
solidarity  and  prestige  of  Islam  and  could  never  be  per- 
mitted. Islam  has  been  like  a  trap  whose  door  is  easily 
opened  for  admission  but  never  for  exit. 

In  the  mountains  of  North  Syria  are  the  interesting 


Pan-Islamism  in  Turkey  47 

Nusairiye  people.  They  are  treated  by  the  Turks  as 
Mohammedans  and,  in  many  cases,  have  adopted  the  out- 
ward forms  of  conformity,  though  only  in  appearance. 
On  one  occasion  I  was  in  camp  in  this  region,  when  an 
intelligent  appearing  man  came  to  the  tent  door.  He 
wore  the  turban  of  a  Moslem  scholar  and  had  the  appear- 
ance and  bearing  of  a  Mohammedan.  His  talk,  however, 
led  me  to  doubt  my  eyes,  for  he  asked  most  insistently 
for  an  American  school  for  his  village.  At  length  I 
turned  to  him  and  said,  in  a  tone  of  surprise,  "  Are  you 
not  a  Moslem1?"  After  a  hasty  glance  around,  to  see 
who  was  near,  and  in  a  low  tone  of  voice,  he  said,  "  Yes, 
I  am  a  Moslem,  now,"  with  an  emphasis  on  the  last  word 
that  showed  plainly  that  his  conformity  was  only  out- 
ward and  based  on  fear,  not  conviction. 

The  greatest  promoter  of  the  idea  of  pan-Islamism  was 
the  former  Sultan  of  Turkey,  Abd  ul  Hamid.  He  had  the 
acuteness  to  see  the  unspeakable  value  of  welding  Islam 
into  one,  and  posing  as  the  head  of  that  force  in  facing 
the  Christian  powers  of  Europe.  Nor  was  he  slow  to 
make  use  of  this  weapon  in  seeking  to  circumvent  the 
powers  in  their  plans  for  the  reformation  or  protection  of 
certain  portions  of  his  empire.  When  pressed  to  in- 
troduce certain  reforms  in  Macedonia,  he  held  this  up  as 
a  threat  that  he  could  not  answer  for  the  result  of  the  ir- 
ritation at  the  insult  placed  upon  him  as  the  Caliph.  In 
the  hands  of  Abd  ul  Hamid  everything  was  made  to  play 
a  part  in  his  game  of  self-aggrandizement,  and  it  would 
be  hard  to  prove  that  his  zeal  for  Islam  had  any  real  de- 
votion to  religious  principle  or  belief.  It  was  merely  one 
of  the  cards  he  handled  so  skillfully  during  the  long  years 
of  his  baleful  reign.  It  is  highly  probable  also  that  in  all 
these  matters  he  was  inspired  and  guided  by  that  strange 
character  Abd  ul  Huda  who  exerted  fsuch  a  marvellous 
influence  through  his  entire  reign.  With  the  deposition 


48  Islam  and  Missions 

of  Abd  ul  Hamid,  the  importance  of  pan-Islamism  as  a 
present  issue  in  Turkey  has  become  far  less. 

The  one  other  centre  of  this  idea  was  and  is  in  North 
Africa.  The  Sheikh  of  Senusi  went  farther  towards  or- 
ganizing Islam  as  an  independent  religious  and  political 
power  than  any  other  leader  who  has  ever  lived.  Com- 
bining religious  leadership  and  political  control,  he  es- 
tablished monastic  institutions  in  many  places  and  en- 
rolled a  large  number  of  followers  under  his  banner  of 
reform  and  return  to  the  simplicity  of  the  original  teach- 
ing of  Mohammed.  After  his  death  the  order  has  con- 
tinued in  much  power  and  influence,  and  it  is  not  im- 
probable that  a  strong  leader  arising  among  them  might 
gather  a  vindictive  force  that  would  make  much  trouble 
in  Arabia,  Egypt,  and  North  Africa,  but  such  a  conflict 
would  be  quite  as  likely  to  involve  the  supremacy  of 
Turkey,  a  Moslem  power,  as  to  disturb  the  authority  of 
England,  Italy  or  France  in  North  Africa.  While  it 
seems  to  me  that  the  possibility  of  anything  like  the 
realization  of  the  pan-Islamic  idea  is  so  very  remote  as  to 
be  negligible,  it  is  certainly  true  that  the  idea  has  in- 
fluenced and  will  influence  all  Mohammedan  powers  in  a 
very  real  degree.  In  Turkey,  we  cannot  fail  to  compare 
the  state  of  things  before  and  after  the  Constitution.  As 
yet,  there  is  no  marked  improvement  in  affairs  among  the 
people,  but  there  is  a  great  difference  in  many  matters  af- 
fecting evangelical  work  and  in  the  attitude  of  mind  and 
government  towards  all  mission  work. 

In  regard  to  education,  the  old  regime  did  all  in  its 
power  to  restrain  and  prevent  the  organization  or  exten- 
sion of  school  work.  The  Young  Turkey  Party  cannot 
consistently  take  the  same  course,  nor  do  they  wish  to  do 
so.  Many  of  them  have  lived  abroad,  in  Paris  or  in  Lon- 
don and  are  keen  enough  to  recognize  the  power  and  in- 
fluence of  general  education. 


Pan-Islamism  in  Turkey  49 

They  must  have  the  education  of  the  masses  as  one  of 
their  methods  of  progress  in  civilization  and  international 
power.  The  cry  now  is,  "  Education  under  government 
control."  It  is  a  question  which  would  be  worse  from  a 
missionary  point  of  view.  Under  the  old  regime,  we  had 
to  fight  for  the  very  existence  of  our  schools  and  to  secure 
the  enlargement  of  our  circle  of  influence  in  quiet,  un- 
obtrusive ways,  following  the  lines  of  least  resistance  in 
order  to  avoid  attracting  attention  and  arousing  opposi- 
tion. It  was  an  axiom  among  the  people :  "  Whatever  is 
done  is  permitted  ;  whatever  is  asked  is  forbidden. " 
Under  the  new  idea,  if  the  government  has  strength  to 
carry  out  its  programme,  there  will  be  an  incessant  interfer- 
ence in  regard  to  schedules  of  study,  worship,  method  of 
work,  etc.,  always  in  the  interest  of  Islam.  While  we 
may  not  have  to  fight  for  existence,  as  in  the  past,  we 
shall  doubtless  have  to  walk  most  carefully  in  order  to 
maintain  our  independence  in  the  conduct  of  our  school 
work  on  really  evangelical  lines. 

It  does  not  seem  conceivable  that  Mohammedan  power, 
where  it  is  free  from  outside  restraint,  will  ever  give  any- 
thing like  equal  treatment  to  all  concerned.  It  was  one 
of  the  marvels  and  contradictions  of  the  days  of  revolu- 
tion in  1908  that  the  words,  "Liberty,  Equality,  and 
Fraternity,"  were  on  the  lips  of  Moslem  and  Christian 
alike.  It  would  be  unfair  to  allege  that  this  was  all  in- 
sincere. In  the  heat  of  rejoicing  over  the  deliverance 
from  indescribable  oppression  and  repression  it  is  to  be 
accepted  that  many  of  both  forms  of  belief  really  accepted 
the  theory  of  equality  and  imagined  it  possible.  But  in 
nine  cases  out  of  ten,  I  believe  the  cooler  second  thought 
of  the  next  morning  made  each  realize  that  there  is  an 
element  in  Islam  which  makes  it  forever  impossible  to 
consider  or  to  treat  a  Christian  as  an  equal.  The  only 
normal  position  for  a  Christian,  in  the  economy  of  Islam, 


50  Islam  and  Missions 

is  that  of  an  inferior  servant  or  subject,  merely  tolerated 
so  long  as  he  may  be  useful,  but  otherwise  put  out  of  the 
way  with  as  little  consideration  as  any  other  animal 
which  has  become  useless  or  hurtful.  In  the  exigencies 
of  political  relations  with  foreign  nations  a  Christian 
power  may  be  recognized  as  superior  in  strength  and 
tolerated  of  necessity,  but  never  truly  loved.  But  the 
relation  of  equality  and  brotherhood  is  inherently  op- 
posed to  the  spirit  of  Islam,  and  hence  it  is  hard  to  be- 
lieve that  this  can  be  really  effective  in  the  creed  and 
practice  of  any  Moslem  power. 

Before  the  revolution,  the  young  men  of  Turkey  were 
going  abroad  by  the  thousand  every  year.  There  is  not 
a  land  on  the  face  of  the  globe  where  Armenians  and 
Syrians  are  not  to  be  found.  They  are  itinerant  mer- 
chants on  every  road  and  byway.  They  work  in  the 
mines  and  factories  ;  some  run  banks  and  sweat-shops  in 
lower  New  York.  They  enter  the  homes  of  America's 
rich  to  sell  rugs  or  to  work  on  the  sympathies  of  their 
comfortable  listeners.  They  gather  money  by  every 
means  and  on  every  pretense.  When  liberty  was  pro- 
claimed many  thought  that  this  tide  of  emigration  would 
be  reversed,  and  that  those  who  had  left  would  come  back 
to  happy  homes. 

One  of  the  items  of  the  reform  and  equality  party  was 
the  enlistment  of  Christians  in  the  army  on  equal  terms 
with  their  Mohammedan  neighbours.  This  was  ac- 
claimed with  loud  voices  in  many  sections  by  the  Chris- 
tians, and  is  still  accepted  in  such  regions  as  Armenia, 
where  the  normal  Christian  population  far  outnumbers 
the  Moslems.  But  elsewhere,  where  the  majority  is 
strongly  the  other  way,  the  Christian  young  men  have  re- 
sorted to  every  possible  subterfuge  to  prove  their  exemp- 
tion from  military  service,  and  where  this  is  impossible 
they  have  escaped  from  the  country.  In  short,  they  will 


Pan-Islamism  in  Turkey  51 

do  anything  rather  than  run  the  risk  of  putting  them- 
selves under  the  direction  of  military  superiors  of  the 
faith  of  Mohammed.  This  may  have  no  direct  bearing 
on  mission  work,  but  it  has  a  very  important  indirect  re- 
lation to  it,  for  whatever  adds  to  the  restlessness  of  the 
people  increases  the  difficulty  of  gaining  an  influence 
over  them,  or  of  securing  their  attention  to  spiritual 
matters. 

These  things  all  emphasize  in  another  way  the  effect 
of  this  idea  upon  the  Mohammedans  themselves.  In- 
herent in  the  idea  of  pan-Islamism  is  the  sense  of  superi- 
ority and  satisfaction.  While  there  may  be  an  outward 
respect  for  the  foreigner  as  a  citizen  of  a  powerful  state 
there  is  no  respect  for  his  religion  or  desire  to  exchange 
a  spiritual  monotheism  for  what  has  been  understood  to 
be  a  crude  idolatrous  worship  that  multiplies  deities  and 
accepts  pictures  and  images  in  the  place  of  God. 

In  conclusion  let  me  say  that  pan-Islamism  in  the 
fullest  sense  of  the  term  appears  to  me  as  a  chimera  that 
will  never  do  more  than  create  restless  dreams  for  timid 
or  nervous  ministers  of  state.  And  yet  the  idea  of  sol- 
idarity and  inherent  superiority  in  Islam  will  produce  in 
many  localities  conditions  that  should  not  be  ignored 
but  which  can  be  treated  only  in  accordance  with  local 
conditions.  This  idea  of  solidarity  will  maintain  the 
supercilious  attitude  of  Islam  wherever  it  can  exercise 
any  authority.  It  will  call  for  the  greatest  caution  in 
intercourse  with  leaders  of  Moslem  thought.  It  will 
make  it  harder  rather  than  easier  to  induce  Moslem 
leaders  to  trust  their  children  to  Christian  schools.  It 
will  make  the  ear  more  deaf  to  Christian  appeal  and 
argument.  On  the  other  hand  and  as  an  offset  to  this 
statement,  it  should  be  noted  that  Moslem  children  are 
coming  to  our  mission  schools  in  larger  numbers  than  be- 
fore the  revolution. 


52  Islam  and  Missions 

In  Turkey  I  cannot  advocate  any  radically  changed 
methods  of  work.  While  the  government  is  still  weak 
but  making  an  effort  at  reform,  it  is  certainly  the  duty  of 
all  to  support  it.  We  should  push  every  advantage  of 
the  new  nominal  liberty  to  induce  the  youth  to  enter  our 
schools,  and  should,  in  every  way,  seek  to  lead  them  to 
an  honest  study  and  investigation  of  our  faith.  For  this 
purpose  controversial  books  as  are  kind  in  spirit  while 
clearly  contrasting  the  lack  of  Moslem  teaching  with  the 
fullness  and  perfection  of  Christ  should  be  carefully  used. 
And  always  must  the  Moslems  be  made  to  realize  the 
falseness  of  their  idea  of  Christianity.  When  they  real- 
ize that  true  Christianity  is  as  monotheistic  as  their  own 
religion,  that  it  hates  and  forbids  everything  like  idol 
worship  ;  or  the  association  of  man  with  the  functions  of 
deity  j  that  its  ideal  of  spiritual  living  and  righteousness 
is  far  in  advance  of  Islam  ;  then  will  they  be  willing  to 
compare  the  Gospel  with  the  Koran  and  may  be  led  to 
choose  between  Mohammed  and  Jesus  Christ. 

The  solidarity  of  Islam  must  be  broken  :  but  that  must 
be  done  in  the  spirit  of  the  words  :  "  Not  by  might  nor  by 
power,  but  by  My  Spirit."  Not  the  crushing  external 
force  of  warlike  weapons  such  as  appeared  in  the  crusades 
but  the  winning  attractive  power  of  Christ's  love.  As  a 
magnet  draws  the  particles  of  steel  unto  itself,  let  the 
love  of  Christ  in  the  person  of  His  servants  be  brought  so 
near  to  the  hearts  of  the  hosts  of  Islam  that  one  by  one, 
now  here,  now  there,  individuals  shall  be  won  out  of  that 
great  dark  mass  until  the  whole  disintegrates  and  the  en- 
tire body  shall  be  drawn  into  the  heart  of  the  loving 
Father.  May  God  hasten  the  day  and  increase  our  faith 
in  Him  and  deepen  our  love  for  His  wandering  children. 


Ill 

PAN-ISLAMISM  IN  AFEICA 
REV.  FREIDRICH  WURZ,  BASEL 

IN  speaking  of  the  spread  of  Islam  in  Africa  we  nat- 
urally think  at  first  of  the  tropical  part  of  the  con- 
tinent, for  there  Islam  is  now  making  its  great  con- 
quests and  there  also  we  can  best  observe  the  laws  of  its 
progress.1 

In  two  huge  fronts,  one  from  the  north  and  one  from 
the  east,  Islam  is  advancing  to  embrace  the  southern  and 
western  parts  of  Africa.  Both  are  backed  by  countries 
where  Islam  has  been  at  home  for  more  than  a  thousand 
years.  Behind  the  eastern  front  stands  Arabia,  the  very 
cradle  of  Islam.  There  always  has  been  much  intercourse 
between  the  coasts  of  Arabia  and  those  of  Africa,  and  to- 
day it  stretches  from  the  Mediterranean  down  to  Mom- 
basa and  Zanzibar,  the  two  widely  open  doors  of  East 
Africa.  Both  of  these  places  are  on  the  southern  side  of 
the  Equator,  and  so  almost  two -thirds  of  the  whole 
African  east  coast  are  under  the  influence  of  Arabia,  not 
to  mention  the  countries  farther  east.  The  northern  front 
extends  from  the  shores  of  the  Nile  to  those  of  the  Atlantic 
Ocean.  It  covers  almost  the  whole  of  the  Sudan  and  is 
backed  by  the  large  countries  of  Mohammedan  North 
Africa  which  are  among  the  oldest  and  most  impregnable 
strongholds  of  Islam.  If  we  draw  on  the  map  a  dividing 
line  between  Mohammedan  and  heathen  Africa,  we  find 

1  Compare  the  author's  article,  "  Die  Ausbreitung  des  Islam  in  Af- 
rika,"  Allgemeine  Missions  Zeilschrift,  1910,  pp.  16-30  and  74-82. 

53 


54  Islam  and  Missions 

that  it  stretches  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  at  Sierra  Leone 
to  the  Indian  Ocean  at  the  mouth  of  the  Zambezi  Eiver. 
Corresponding  with  the  two  fronts  Islam  is  advancing  in, 
the  line  runs  in  its  first  part  from  the  west  to  the  east, 
but  in  its  second  part  it  turns  to  the  south.  Of  course 
we  must  not  think  that  on  one  side  of  the  line  the  popu- 
lation is  entirely  Moslem  and  on  the  other  side  heathen. 
Instead  of  speaking  of  a  dividing  line  we  might  as  well 
speak  of  a  dividing  zone  of  considerable  breadth.  And 
within  this  zone,  roughly  speaking,  the  conquest  of  Islam 
is  taking  place  to-day.  Behind  it  in  Mohammedan  ter- 
ritory, there  still  remain  some  heathen  peoples  which  are 
practically  of  no  importance,  while  in  front  of  it  we  find 
amidst  the  heathen  tribes  many  colonies  of  Moslem 
traders,  some  of  them  making  scarcely  any  propaganda, 
but  all  of  them  marking  the  route  for  time  to  come.  The 
proceedings  going  on  within  the  zone  itself  are  of  a  very 
different  nature.  For  instance,  in  Adamaua,  in  the 
north  of  Kamerun,  there  are  districts  where  heathen  and 
Mohammedan  peoples  are  living  like  enemies,  the 
heathen  keeping  aloof  from  the  Moslems.  It  is  only 
natural  that  in  cases  like  this  Islam  is  not  making  many 
converts.  On  the  other  hand,  in  Sierra  Leone,  in  Southern 
Nigeria,  in  German  East  Africa  and  other  parts  Moham- 
medans and  heathen  are  living  in  friendly  intercourse  and 
here  Islam  makes  most  rapid  progress. 

The  general  impression  is  that  Islam  is  advancing  on 
the  whole  line.  In  some  parts  Islam  seems  to  have 
reached  the  limits  of  its  extension,  the  heathen  popula- 
tion knowing  of  it  but  declining  to  adopt  it ;  but  this 
does  not  prove  much.  As  in  Christian  missions  there 
are  times  of  preparatory  work,  showing  no  palpable  suc- 
cess and  yet  being  of  the  utmost  importance,  so  it  is  in 
the  spread  of  Islam.  It  has  not  only  its  time  of  rapid 
conquest,  but  also  its  time  of  quiet  infiltration.  Other- 


Pan-Islamism  in  Africa  55 

wise  it  would  be  impossible  to  explain  the  rapid  advance 
among  heathen  populations  the  world  has  seen  so  often. 

It  is  not  only  its  splendid  geographical  position  that 
gives  Islam  its  great  power  j  there  are  other  advantages. 
The  races  living  in  the  Sudan,  almost  all  of  them  being 
Moslems,  are  more  vigorous  and  more  highly  developed 
than  the  heathen  negroes.  Among  some  of  them  we  find 
great  energy,  a  political  creative  power,  an  ability  of  co- 
operation, that  makes  us  still  think  of  their  great  ances- 
tors living  centuries  ago  under  the  brazen  sky  of  the  great 
Sahara. 

It  is  only  natural  that  the  heathen  African  recognizes 
the  Mohammedan  as  superior.  Next  to  the  European  he 
is  the  one  that  brings  culture  and  fortune  and  higher  po- 
sition to  those  connected  with  him.  This  influence  is 
strongly  nourished  by  the  fact  that  almost  all  trade  of 
the  interior  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Hausa,  Mandingo  and 
other  Mohammedan  peoples,  living  in  the  countries  of 
the  Niger,  the  Benue  and  Lake  Chad.  We  are  apt  to 
think  lightly  of  the  inland  trade,  being  concerned  pri- 
marily with  the  European  commerce  of  the  African 
coasts,  but  it  holds  its  independent  position  and  even 
now  is  of  considerable  importance.  It  includes  every- 
thing African  peoples  are  giving  each  other  ;  formerly 
slaves,  now  gold,  salt,  iron  and  leather  wares,  and  last 
not  least  the  much-sought  cola-nut.  The  transport  of 
that  fruit  alone  occupies  thousands  of  people.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  the  continual  communication  between  the  Mo- 
hammedan tradesman  and  the  negro  tribes  is  not  only  a 
mercantile  one.  In  importing  his  goods,  he  is  also  giv- 
iag  his  higher  culture  and  his  religion.  While  this  is 
true  of  the  Western  Sudan  and  adjacent  countries,  we 
find  similar  conditions  in  tropical  East  Africa.  Here  the 
inland  trade  does  not  take  a  very  important  position. 
Islam  has  not  been  able  to  win  and  use  for  its  purpose 


56  Islam  and  Missions 

strong  native  races  like  those  of  the  Western  Sudan.  Its 
chief  representatives  have  been  foreigners,  such  as  Arabs 
and  Indians.  Nevertheless  on  the  whole  the  Moham- 
medan holds  the  same  position  as  in  the  West.  He  is 
respected  by  the  natives  as  the  wealthy,  self-confident, 
influential  man,  although  it  never  yet  has  been  proved 
that  Islam  really  has  an  uplifting  force  as  far  as  material 
or  mental  culture  is  concerned. 

In  looking  about  for  another  ally  of  Islam,  we  find  the 
European  colonial  governments.  Strange  as  this  state- 
ment may  sound,  we  must  still  add  to  its  strangeness  by 
confessing  that  we  are  already  so  much  accustomed  to  the 
fact  that  it  hardly  causes  any  astonishment  to  hear  of 
the  partiality  governments  are  showing  to  Islam.  Of 
course  when  first  taking  possession  of  the  country, 
they  had  to  overcome  the  political  ascendency  of  the 
Moslem  rulers,  such  as  the  Fulbe  in  the  Western  Sudan 
and  the  Arabs  in  the  East,  or  else  they  would  not  have 
become  masters  of  their  colonies  ;  but  later  on,  under  the 
peaceful  rule  of  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Germany,  it 
became  clearer  and  clearer  that  the  new  order  of  things 
was  very  advantageous  to  the  spread  of  Islam.  The  Mo- 
hammedan was  no  longer  the  feared  and  hated  slave- 
hunter.  He  was  able  to  deal  with  the  heathen  in  a  free 
and  friendly  manner,  and  so,  although  the  times  when  he 
might  have  forced  the  African  to  accept  his  creed  had 
passed,  the  influence  of  Islam  was  not  subdued  but  rather 
strengthened.  It  is  a  fact  that  Islam  is  now  coming  into 
contact  with  countries  and  tribes  which  were  formerly 
barred  to  it. 

The  favour  of  government  towards  Islam  is  not  always 
involuntary.  Colonial  governments  often  prefer  to  em- 
ploy Moslems.  At  the  Fourth  German  Colonial  Con- 
gress held  at  Berlin  in  October,  1910,  Missions  Inspector 
Axenfeld,  speaking  of  East  Africa,  said  :  "  Wherever  the 


Pan-Islamism  in  Africa  57 

European  goes,  Islam  is  following.  There  is  no  military 
post  without  Mohammedan  soldiers,  hardly  a  place  of 
government  without  Mohammedan  subalterns  and  serv- 
ants, hardly  a  plantation  where  the  Mohammedan 
tradesman  does  not  open  his  shop."  As  to  the  partiality 
of  the  government  of  Northern  Nigeria  against  missions 
we  need  but  refer  to  the  report  of  Commission  VII  of  the 
World  Missionary  Conference,  1910. l  As  a  further  illus- 
tration we  add  an  incident  that  happened  in  one  of  the 
government  schools  in  the  hinterland  of  Sierra  Leone. 
The  scholars  of  that  school  belong  to  different  tribes ; 
some  of  them  are  already  Mohammedans  while  others 
doubtless  pagans.  Because  of  neutrality  no  lectures  on 
Christian  doctrine  are  given,  but  there  are  lessons  in 
Arabic.  We  do  not  need  to  ask  to  what  purpose.  The 
school  committee  consists  entirely  of  Moslems.  It  hap- 
pened that  some  of  the  Mohammedan  fathers  felt  uneasy 
about  pictures  of  living  creatures  shown  in  object  lessons. 
To  remove  this  stumbling-block  the  government  of  the 
colony  did  not  fail  to  lay  the  matter,  through  the  Colonial 
Office  at  London,  before  high  Mohammedan  authori- 
ties in  Constantinople,  Cairo  and  India,  upon  whose  ap- 
proval the  Mohammedan  fathers  found  their  peace  of 
soul  again  !  Everybody  will  understand  how  proceed- 
ings like  this  will  strengthen  the  self-conceit  of  the  Mos- 
lems. 

So  far  we  have  been  speaking  of  outside  influences  pro- 
moting Mohammedan  propaganda.  The  question  now 
arising  is,  whether  that  propaganda  is  intentional.  The 
answer  is  difficult.  The  living  forces  of  Moslem  propa- 
ganda are  so  different  from  those  in  Christian  missions, 
that  we  easily  commit  the  fault  either  of  overvaluing  or 
of  underrating  their  power.  Of  organization  there  is 
probably  less  than  we  imagine.  These  people  know  lit- 
1  Vol.  VII,  p.  59. 


58  Islam  and  Missions 

tie  of  each  other  and  their  cooperation  is  mostly  uncon- 
scious. We  can  best  realize  this,  if  we  try  to  imagine  a 
Moslem  Missionary  Conference,  comprising  all  Moslem 
missions  in  Africa,  discussing  questions  of  unity  and  co- 
operation and  issuing  a  statistical  atlas !  We  at  once  feel 
the  impossibility  of  the  very  idea.  It  is  a  groundless 
conception  that  El  Azhar,  the  famous  university  of  Cairo, 
is  sending  thousands  of  missionaries  into  heathen  Africa. 
El  Azhar  is  not  more  specifically  a  missionary  institu- 
tion than  are  some  of  the  theological  schools  of  Europe. 
We  believe  the  same  is  true  of  all  the  other  schools  of  Mos- 
lem learning  in  North  Africa,  except  possibly  the  schools 
maintained  by  the  religious  orders  in  the  Sahara  or  in  the 
Sudan.  On  the  other  hand  we  know  some  facts  which 
sufficiently  prove  that  there  must  be  a  considerable 
amount  of  conscious  propaganda.  We  do  not  enlarge 
upon  what  is  being  done  by  zealous  Moslems,  such  as 
traders,  soldiers,  or  government  subalterns  in  their  private 
capacity.  But  from  time  to  time  we  hear  of  itinerant 
preachers  suddenly  putting  in  their  appearance  in  the 
dividing  zone  mentioned.  They  are  trying,  either  to 
convert  the  heathen,  or  to  raise  in  the  Moslems  a  pas- 
sionate zeal  to  defy  Christian  governments  and  Christian 
missions.  Some  of  them  even  proclaim  themselves  as 
Mahdis  and  provoke  bloody  rebellions.  We  further 
learn  from  Dr.  Sell  and  from  French  authorities  that  some 
of  the  great  Dervish  orders,  which  are  at  the  bottom  of 
the  religious  movements  in  North  African  Islam,  display 
a  strong  proselyting  activity  among  the  heathen  by 
travelling  agents,  by  schools  and  otherwise.  But  for 
European  eyes  their  plans  and  methods  will  always  be 
covered  by  a  veil  of  mystery.  Who  can  tell  for  instance 
what  is  the  relation  of  the  itinerant  preachers  and 
fanatics  mentioned  above  to  those  larger  organizations,  or 
how  many  of  the  innumerable  Koran  teachers  of  tropical 


Pan-Islamism  in  Africa  59 

Africa  are  secret  members  of  religious  orders?  Further 
we  hear  that  every  year  masses  of  people  of  the  north  and 
west  and  also  of  the  tropical  part  of  Africa  are  going  on 
pilgrimage  to  Mecca.  To  quote  the  Government  Eeport 
of  North  Nigeria  (1909,  p.  6)  :  "  Over  5,000  pilgrims  an- 
nually cross  the  frontiers  of  Bornu  eastwards  on  a  journey 
which  until  quite  recently  has  occupied  from  three  to 
seven  years.  Their  number  is  recruited  from  a  Moham- 
medan population  of  3, 500, 000. ;  '  It  is  needless  to  add  that 
among  the  whole  population  the  Moslem  spirit  is  strength- 
ened by  the  "  Hajj."  It  must  be  admitted  that  the 
pilgrimage  is  not  equally  popular  in  all  parts.  But  even 
where  it  is  not,  the  influence  of  Mecca  is  only  too  real,  as 
was  proved  some  years  ago  in  German  East  Africa  by  an 
exciting  letter  circulated  even  among  government  troops, 
coming,  it  was  pretended,  from  the  prophet  himself  in  a 
mysterious  way. 

Mecca  and  the  Dervish  orders  are  the  strongest  in- 
fluences at  work  as  regards  the  building  up  of  a  Moslem 
African  population,  self-conscious  and  a  unit  in  bitter 
feelings  against  all  non-Moslems,  especially  the  Chris- 
tians. This  is  what  we  call  pan-Islamism.  We  must  not 
forget  that  these  influences  come  to  bear  even  upon  the 
newest  parts  of  Moslem  Africa,  filling  them  with  true 
Mohammedan  spirit,  and  making  them  ready  for  the 
great  rising  against  us  that  the  future  may  bring.  This 
future  will  be  to  some  extent  dependent  on  the  attitude 
which  colonial  governments  take.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
it  will  not  be  so  favourable  as  it  is  now.  Governments 
more  and  more  find  out  that  Islam  is  hostile  to  them,  but 
even  so  we  have  no  reason  whatever  to  hope  that  the 
spread  of  Islam  will  diminish  or  come  to  a  stop.  We 
must  rather  expect  the  contrary,  considering  (1)  the  ag- 
gressive power  of  Islam,  (2)  the  ever-increasing  facilities 
of  intercourse  between  the  African  peoples,  as  created  by 


60  Islam  and  Missions 

the  colonial  governments,  (3)  the  fact  that  animistic 
paganism  is  losing  ground  more  and  more.  Thus  we 
must  expect  to  see  still  more  of  heathen  Africa  won  to 
Islam  before  long. 

What  is  to  be  said  about  the  defensive  and  aggressive 
attitude  Christian  missions  are  taking  f  What  has  been 
achieved  hitherto  ?  Taking  a  glance  all  round,  we  find 
that  it  is  very  little  in  comparison  with  the  elementary 
power  of  Islam.  In  North  Africa  we  have  a  long  line  of 
Christian  missions  among  Mohammedans,  stretching 
from  Morocco  through  Algeria  and  Tunis  to  Egypt,  but 
it  is  exceedingly  thin  and  therefore  insufficient.  Still  we 
must  not  undervalue  their  importance.  They  remind 
Christendom  of  its  duties  towards  Moslem  Africa,  al- 
though all  of  them,  except  in  Egypt,  are  coping  with 
great  difficulties,  owing  to  political  conditions.  If  this 
northern  front  of  ours  could  be  strengthened,  it  would 
not  only  be  a  most  valuable  field  for  the  development  of 
missionary  forces,  but  it  would  make  its  influence  felt  far 
into  tropical  Africa. 

At  the  southern  frontier  of  Mohammedan  Africa  we  find 
missions  of  much  stronger  development,  but  these  are  mis- 
sions among  heathen.  They  also  are  working  in  some  way 
against  Islam,  for  the  native  churches  they  are  building 
up  are  the  rocks  that  once  will  have  to  break  the  flood  of 
Islam.  It  is  another  question  though  if  they  will  ever  be 
able  to  make  a  missionary  advance  on  Mohammedan  ter- 
ritories, or  even  on  the  Moslem  population  surrounding 
them. 

The  missions  of  West  Africa  are  all  suffering  under 
great  strategic  drawbacks.  The  first  consists  in  the  end- 
less variety  of  tribes  and  languages.  A  second  draw- 
back is  the  lack  of  unity  among  the  many  missions  that 
are  at  work.  It  is  with  great  pleasure  that  we  hear  of  a 
conference,  held  at  Lokoja  in  1910,  where  four  of  them 


Pan- Islam  ism  in  Africa  6l 

considered  ways  and  means  of  cooperation.  Another 
drawback  is  that  the  front  of  West  African  missions  is  for 
the  greater  part  far  behind  the  line  where  Islam  is  mak- 
ing its  conquests.  Circumstances  like  this  cannot  be 
changed  at  a  moment's  notice,  but  that  an  alteration 
should  take  place  is  highly  desirable.  Themissions  them- 
selves would  be  roused  to  greater  activity,  if  instead  of 
always  thinking  of  the  coming  battle  with  Islam,  they 
would  stand  in  the  midst  of  it. 

There  is  indeed  some  direct  work  among  Moslems  in 
tropical  Africa,  both  eastern  and  western.  Most  of  it 
however  is  not  done  in  a  systematic  way,  by  special 
agents,  but  rather  occasionally,  along  with  work  among 
the  pagans.  We  find  however  one  great  exception  to  this 
in  Northern  Nigeria.  This  is  a  strategic  position  of  the 
greatest  importance,  the  Niger  being  the  great  entrance 
door  of  the  Western  Sudan,  and  at  the  same  time,  African 
Islam  having  here  one  of  its  most  powerful  strongholds. 
The  Church  Missionary  Society  has  nobly  led  the  way  and 
is  now  seconded  by  three  smaller  societies.  The  mission- 
ary work  as  yet  consists  mostly  of  medical  service,  ren- 
dered to  the  Mohammedan  people  ;  also  in  the  opening  of 
schools,  the  attendance  on  which  is  very  slender.  A 
refuge  for  slave  children  has  also  been  founded  and  is 
patronized  by  government.  Public  preaching  is  not  al- 
lowed, owing  to  the  anxiety  of  government  to  avoid  the 
outbreak  of  fanaticism.  But  we  have  never  yet  heard 
that  the  presence  of  missionaries  in  the  country  has 
caused  serious  unrest.  Still  the  unwillingness  of  the 
majority  of  the  Mohammedan  population  to  accept  from 
missionaries  even  medical  help  proves  how  strong  their 
resistance  against  the  Gospel  is,  and  is  also  a  warning  for 
Christian  missions  in  general  not  to  delay  their  advance 
on  the  Mohammedan  Sudan  until  Islam  is  rooted  too 
deeply  in  men's  hearts.  Another  encouragement  is  that 


62  Islam  and  Missions 

Protestant  Christendom  seems  to  be  getting  more  fully 
aware  of  its  duties  towards  Islam.  We  welcome  this  as  a 
hopeful  sign,  most  of  all  for  the  Dark  Continent,  where 
long  neglected  work  must  now  be  taken  up  speedily  and 
energetically. 


IV 

THE  DEEVISH  OEDEES  IN  AFEICA 
REV.  CANON  E.  SELL,  D.D.,  MADRAS 

IPEOPOSE  in  this  paper  to  show  the  extent  to  which, 
during  the  last  century,  Islam  has  spread  in  various 
parts  of  Africa,  and  by  what  means  it  has  been 
propagated.     I  shall  then  state  its  more  recent  growth, 
so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  gather  information  on  the 
subject.     I  do  not  deal  with  the  question  of  Islam  in 
Egypt.     The  chief  agency  in  this  propaganda  has  been  a 
number  of  the  Dervish  Orders,  to  many  of  which  lay 
brothers  are  attached.1 

The  Kadiriya  Order,  founded  in  A.  H.  561  (A.  D.  1165), 
is  widely  dispersed,  and  about  one  hundred  years  ago 
small  and  scattered  communities  of  it  were  to  be  found  in 
the  Western  Sudan.  Stirred  up  by  a  missionary  spirit  it 
became  very  active  in  its  proselytizing  work.  Its  meth- 
ods have  been  peaceful.  Speaking  of  the  success  of  the 
Kadiriya  Dervishes  in  parts  of  Algiers,  the  French  Su- 
dan and  Senegal,  two  French  writers  say  of  the  converts  : 
"Their  missionaries  become  their  masters,  spirituaFand 
temporal,  veritable  princes  and  at  the  same  time  priests 
and  warriors."2  Chatelier  says  of  them:  "  By  the  in- 
struction which  they  give  to  their  disciples,  by  the  colonies 

1  A  full  account  of  the  origin  of  all  the  important  orders,  ancient 
and  modern,  working  in  various  parts  of  the  Moslem  world,  will  be 
found  in  my   "Religious  Orders  of  Islam."     (S.  P.  C.  K.,  Madras. 
Simpkin  Marshall  &  Co.,  London.) 

2  Depont  et  Coppolani,  "  Les  Confreres  Religieuses  Musulmanes, " 
p.  311. 

63 


64  Islam  and  Missions 

they  found  on  every  side,  the  Dervishes  multiply  in  the 
Sudans  their  centre  of  action/7 1  Es  Senusi  was  once  a 
member  of  this  order. 

The  orders  more  recently  formed  are  to  be  found  in 
Timbuktu,  Algiers  and  Morocco,  and  it  is  with  these  we 
have  to  do.  Many  of  them  are  offshoots  from  the  older 
Shadhiliya  Order,  founded  A.  H.  656  (A.  D.  1258).  Of 
these  the  Bakayiya  Order  has  its  centre  in  Timbuktu  and 
has  much  influence  south  of  Morocco.  In  the  Sahara  the 
Bakayis  are  in  many  tribes  the  real  political  and  spiritual 
rulers. 

The  Shaikhiya  Order,  founded  A.  H.  1013  (A.  D.  1604), 
is  now  powerful  in  the  southern  part  of  Algeria,  but  its 
influence  is  more  political  than  religious.  It  maintains 
all  the  superstitious  notions  and  practices  of  the  Mara- 
bouts. 

The  Hansaliya  Order,  founded  A.  H.  1114  (A.  D.  1702), 
has  great  influence  amongst  the  Berbers  of  the  Atlas 
mountains.  The  prestige  of  the  order  is  high,  and  its 
leaders  are  renowned  for  the  devotions  and  habits  pecul- 
iar to  Dervish  saintliness.  They  live  an  austere  life  and 
are  fanatical.  Apparently  in  Algiers  they  are  not  dis- 
loyal to  French  rule. 

The  Tijaniya  Order,  founded  A.  H.  1196  (A.  D.  1781), 
is  one  of  the  most  militant  and  most  active  of  all  the 
African  orders.  In  1833  Haji  Omer,  one  of  its  leaders, 
went  to  the  Hausa  country.  The  Kadiriya  Dervishes 
were  too  tolerant  for  him,  and  he  reproached  the  ordinary 
Moslems  with  their  apathy.  He  made  several  military 
expeditions  and  gained  many  converts.  The  influence 
of  the  order  extended  from  Senegal  to  Timbuktu,  and  as 
far  south  as  the  hinterland  of  Sierra  Leone.  It  has  done 
much  to  advance  the  cause  of  Islam  in  Western  Africa. 
Some  years  ago  it  was  said:  a  From  the  mouth  of  the 
1  "  L'  Islam  dans  1'Afrique  Ocoidentale,"  p.  254. 


The  Dervish  Orders  in  Africa  65 

Senegal  to  Lagos,  over  two  thousand  miles,  there  is  said 
to  be  hardly  any  town  of  importance  in  the  seaboard  in 
which  there  is  not,  at  least,  one  mosque,  with  active 
propagandists  of  Islam.'7 1 

The  two  orders,  the  Kadiriya  and  the  Tijaniya,  the  one 
by  peaceful,  the  other  by  warlike  means,  have  been  the 
chief  agents  in  the  extensive  propagation  of  Islam  in  the 
Western  Sudan.  The  former  order  has  also  worked  in 
the  Eastern  Sudan.  Chatelier  says:  u The  whole  re- 
ligious movement  in  the  Eastern  Sudan  also  has  been  di- 
rected by  the  Kadiriya  Dervishes  since  the  first  half  of 
the  nineteenth  century."  a 

The  Eahmaniya  Order,  founded  A.  H.  1208  (A.  D.  1793), 
is  one  of  the  largest  of  the  modern  orders.  It  has  great 
power  in  the  Western  Sudan.  In  Algeria  it  has  seventy- 
seven  monasteries,  so  that  the  agents  available  for  prop- 
agandist work  are  very  numerous. 

The  Darkaviya  Order,  founded  at  the  end  of  the  eight- 
eenth century,  is  an  extremely  fanatical  one  and  is  in 
Northwest  Africa  what  the  Wahabis  were  in  Arabia.  So 
late  as  1888,  it  proclaimed  a  jihad  against  the  French. 
They  do  not  appear  to  have  spread  southwards. 

The  Madaniya  Order,  founded  in  1820,  is  equally  in- 
tolerant. Its  chief  centre  is  in  Tripoli.  Sheikh  Jafer, 
the  son  of  the  founder  of  the  order,  gradually  adapted  his 
teaching  to  the  principles  which  underlie  the  pan-Islamic 
movement,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  originators  and 
afterwards  the  most  ardent  supporter.  The  deposed  Sul- 
tan Abd  ul  Hamid  thought  very  highly  of  him,  and  used 
him  as  an  agent  for  the  propagation  of  pan-Islamic 
views.  He  had  quarters  in  the  palace  of  Yildiz  Kiosk 
and  was  then  the  confidential  friend  and  adviser  of  the 
late  Sultan.  The  Sheikh  used  to  send  forth  his  mission* 

1  Blyden,  quoted  by  Arnold  in  *'  The  Preaching  of  Islam,"  p.  277, 
9  "  L'  Islam  dans  PAfrique  Occidentale,"  p.  166. 


66  Islam  and  Missions 

aries  into  all  parts.  They  sought  to  inspire  the  Sheikhs 
of  the  other  orders  with  their  missionary  zeal.  They 
were  clever  in  adapting  themselves  to  the  ways  and 
thoughts  of  others  in  order  to  win  them  over.  "To  the 
Shadhiliya  they  appeared  as  teachers  of  their  doctrines, 
to  the  Darkaviya  as  ardent  reformers,  to  the  Ulema  and 
to  men  unconnected  with  any  order  they  extolled  the 
power  and  dignity  of  the  Sultan  as  the  Caliph  of  Islam. 
They  kept  alive  a  spirit  of  restlessness,  and  encouraged 
the  hope  that  all  Moslem  lands  would  be  freed  from  the 
yoke  of  the  infidel. ' ' l  They  have  monasteries  in  Algiers, 
but  in  Morocco,  owing  to  their  pan-Islamic  teaching, 
their  influence  is  slight. 

In  modern  times  Islam  has  passed  from  the  Sudan  into 
the  equatorial  regions  from  two  centres.  From  the  west 
it  has  gone  along  the  Atlantic  coast  to  Senegal,  Timbuktu 
and  Hausa  land.  From  the  eastern  side  the  modern 
movement  began  when  Si  Ahmed  bin  Idris,  the  Sheikh  of 
the  Kadiriya  Order,  sent  out  his  missionaries  in  the  early 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  Moslems  in  Nubia 
joined  this  order  in  large  numbers,  and  began  missionary 
work  in  Kordofan,  a  work  now  carried  on  by  the  Senusis. 
These  two  movements,  sometimes  in  the  past  warlike  and 
fanatical,  at  other  times  as  now  more  peaceful,  have  ad- 
vanced rapidly  into  the  pagan  regions.  "  Mohammedan 
North  Africa  is  advancing  surely  and  steadily  southwards 
across  the  Sahara,  which  is  no  longer  the  barrier  it  once 
was.  Instead  of  being  an  unbroken  desert,  as  once 
thought,  it  is  now  known  to  contain  teeming  pagan  tribes. 
A  great  range  of  mountains  has  hitherto  proved  an 
obstacle  to  advance,  and  Mohammedanism  has  been  kept 
in  check,  but  with  the  partition  of  Africa  amongst  the 
powers  of  Europe  has  come  a  new  danger.  The  old 

1  See  "  The  Religious  Orders  of  Islam,"  pp.  73-74,  for  a  further 
account  of  this  powerful  order. 


The  Dervish  Orders  in  Africa  67 

mountain  passes  are  now  being  crossed  by  roads,  and  the 
existence  of  a  protective  government  is  encouraging  a  new 
activity.  The  Koran  is  being  brought  to  the  pagan 
tribes  and  is  prevailing.  When  once  claimed  by  Moslems 
these  tribes  will  be  ten  times  more  difficult  to  reach  with 
the  Gospel."  l 

The  Fulahs  were  the  earlier  agents  of  this  extensive 
movement.  Under  Sheikh  Danfodio,  about  a  hundred 
years  ago  or  so,  they  became  a  powerful,  warlike  and  ag- 
gressive people.  They  carried  their  conquests  to  the  west 
and  to  the  south,  and  in  1837  made  Sokoto  the  capital  of 
a  powerful  Moslem  state.  They  advanced  into  the  Yoruba 
country  and  founded  the  city  of  Iloriu.  Pour  large  king- 
doms in  Seuegambia  and  the  Sudan  represent  the  result 
of  the  energy  which  Sheikh  Danfodio  infused  into  the 
Moslems  of  his  day.  It  is  said  that  he  prophesied  that 
his  green  flag  would  be  the  passport  to  victory  for  a  hun- 
dred years,  and  this  proved  to  be  the  case,  for  in  1900 
the  Fulah  country  became  a  part  of  the  British  Em- 
pire. 

The  Fulahs  held  the  larger  towns,  but  never  subjugated 
the  pagan  tribes  in  the  mountainous  regions.  A  Fulah 
army  left  a  district  where  it  operated  a  depopulated 
desert.  "  Bribery  and  corruption  and  extortion  marked 
the  so- called  administration  of  justice.  .  .  .  Neman's 
life  was  safe  ;  common  people  were  killed  without  com- 
punction ;  notables  were  removed  by  poison  or  secret 
murder."2  Islam  under  Fulah  rule  failed  to  make  the 
pagan  people  happy,  peaceful  or  prosperous. 

The  most  recent  propaganda  is  that  carried  on  by  the 
fanatical  Senusiya  Order.3  Its  founder  Si  Mohammed 

1  C.  M.  8.  Review,  June,  1908,  p.  354. 
8  Blue  Book  on  Northern  Nigeria,  No.  409,  1093,  p.  20. 
3  For  a  full  account  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  this  order,  see  "  The 
Religious  Orders  "of  Islam,"  pp.  82-118. 


68  Islam  and  Missions 

bin  Si  Ali  bin  Senusi  was  born  in  the  year  A.  H.  1206 
(A.  D.  1791).  After  spending  some  time  in  El  Azhar  as  a 
student,  he  joined  the  Kadiriya  Dervishes,  but  about  the 
year  1843  founded  the  order  called  by  his  name.  It  grew 
very  rapidly  and  zaviyas  (monasteries)  were  founded  in 
Egypt,  Tripoli,  the  Central  Sudan,  Tunis,  Algiers  and 
Senegainbia.  The  number  of  its  members  is  very  large, 
probably  five  or  six  millions.  The  Moslems  in  Wadai  are 
nearly  all  Seuusis,  and  are  estimated  at  three  millions. 
For  a  long  time  the  headquarters  of  the  order  was  situated 
in  an  oasis  in  the  Libyan  desert,  midway  between  Egypt 
and  Tripoli.  It  was  the  administrative  centre  of  a  vast 
organization,  and  a  theological  school  for  the  training  of 
its  missionaries.  It  is  said  that  there  were  at  one  time 
seven  hundred  students  there.  Sheikh  Senusi  was  a  re- 
markable man.  To  administrative  abilities  of  a  high 
order,  he  added  the  intense  fervour  of  the  fanatic.  His 
success  amongst  the  pagan  tribes  was  marvellous,  and 
from  the  shores  of  Lake  Chad  to  the  Mediterranean  he  es- 
tablished his  power.  In  1885  the  people  to  the  north- 
west of  Wadai  were  all  pagans  :  in  1888  they  had  all  be- 
come Moslems  and  in  fact  the  whole  region  round  Lake 
Chad  is  now  becoming  more  and  more  under  Senusi  in- 
fluence. In  1894  the  headquarters  were  moved  away 
from  Tripoli,  which  is  Turkish,  to  an  oasis,  El  Istat, 
situated  in  a  desert  to  the  northwest  of  Lake  Chad. 
From  a  strategical  point  of  view  the  position  is  an 
important  one.  Since  then  the  Senusis  have  extended 
into  Kanem.  Politically  they  are  a  source  of  constant 
trouble  to  the  French,  whilst  religiously  they  rouse  a 
deep  spirit  of  fanaticism  and  hatred  of  all  non-Moslem 
people.  The  present  headquarters  has  been  thus  de- 
scribed :  "From  this  inaccessible  fortress  the  Sheikh  ul 
Mahdi  (as  the  Senusi  leader  is  called)  now  governs  all  the 
territories  occupied  by  the  Senusis.  Swift  messengers 


The  Dervish  Orders  in  Africa  69 

carry  his  orders  to  all  parts  of  North  Africa  ;  and  he  is 
constantly  informed  by  his  agents  of  all  that  transpires 
in  the  outer  world,  receiving  books,  pamphlets,  news- 
papers and  all  the  requirements  of  his  responsible  office. 
His  military  and  political  organization  is  complete."  l 
Another  traveller  found  "the  Senusi  headquarters  at 
Kufra  to  be  a  regular  arsenal  of  modern  arms  and  am- 
munition." He  adds  :  "In  the  schools  the  children  are 
taught  to  hold  all  foreigners  in  the  deepest  hatred."  a  In 
1900  the  Eev.  E.  F.  Wilson  reported  that  the  Senusis  had 
arrived  in  Upper  Nigeria  and  were  giving  trouble.  This, 
however,  seems  to  have  been  an  isolated  effort,  for  the  of- 
ficial testimony  is  that  "  there  is  practically  no  Senusi 
cult  in  Northern  Nigeria,  except  possibly  in  Bornu."  3 
United  in  purpose  and  energetic  in  the  dissemination  of 
their  views,  fired  with  a  desire  to  restore  Islam  to  its  orig- 
inal purity,  and  hostile  to  every  form  of  modern  civiliza- 
tion, the  Dervishes  of  the  great  Senusiya  Order  are  in  the 
regions  where  their  influence  extends  the  most  potent 
force  for  the  propagation  of  Islam  that  the  past  century 
or  perhaps  any  century  has  seen.  Silva  White  says  : 
' i  Algeria  is  honeycombed  with  Senusi  intriguers  .  .  . 
so  vast  a  combination  is  necessarily  fraught  with  danger 
to  the  peace  of  Africa."  4  A  French  author  says  :  "  The 
confraternity  of  the  Senusis  is  an  irreconcilable  enemy, 
really  dangerous  to  the  French  authority  in  North 
Africa."  5  Eecent  French  conquests  in  Wadai  may  re- 
strain the  pan-Islamic  propaganda  of  this  order,  but  the 
diffusion  of  Islam  by  more  peaceful  means  will  probably 
go  on  unchecked. 

1  Silva  White,  "From  Sphinx  to  Oracle,"  p.  129. 

•  C.  M.  8.  Review,  June,  1907,  p.  382. 

8  Blue  Uoofc,  No.  409,  Northern  Nigeria,  p.  77. 

4  "  From  Sphinx  to  Oracle,"  p.  125. 

6  Duvreyier,  "  La  Confr6rie  Musalmane,"  p.  14. 


jo  Islam  and  Missions 

This  is  a  very  imperfect  sketch  of  the  chief  Moslem 
missionary  agencies  of  the  last  hundred  years. 

That  in  the  past,  as  now,  there  has  been  great  activity 
in  the  face  of  obstacles,  there  is  no  doubt  j  but  now  many 
of  the  obstacles  are  being  removed  by  the  great  political 
changes  in  Africa  in  recent  years,  and  the  propaganda 
will  certainly  go  on  with  accelerated  force. 

I  have  tried  to  ascertain  the  facts  about  the  most  recent 
advances,  and  though  I  have  not  obtained  information  so 
full  as  I  could  have  wished,  yet  I  give  the  present  facts  as 
made  known  to  me. 

In  Abyssinia  Islam  appears  to  be  gaining  ground,  and 
it  is  said  that  the  whole  of  Northern  Abyssinia  will,  it  is 
feared,  become  Mohammedan  within  a  short  time.1 

In  the  diocese  of  Mombasa  on  the  east  coast  of  Africa, 
I  find  that  little  is  known  of  the  Dervish  orders,  or  of 
any  propaganda  carried  on  by  them.  Islam  is  of  a  low 
and  ignorant  type,  and  as  yet  has  little  or  no  connection 
with  Egypt.  Little  or  no  instruction  is  given  to  converts.2 
Bishop  Peel  looks  with  some  anxiety  on  schools  which 
are  to  be  opened  for  them,  tending  as  it  will  to  make 
them  more  active  ;  but  sees  a  great  opening  for  mission 
work  if  mission  schools  can  be  established  and  Christian 
teachers  trained  who  could  easily  find  employment  in 
government  schools.  Unless  this  can  be  done  there  will 
be,  he  says,  "  a  grand  struggle  in  the  near  future." 

1  Der  Islam,  quoted  in  C.  M.  8.  Review  for  October,  1910,  p.  636. 

2  "  As  all  the  available  literature  of  Islam  is  in  Arabic,  and  very 
few  Swahalis,  even  in  Zanzibar,  know  that  language,  it  is  evident  that 
their  proselytizing   efforts  can  only  have  a  very  superficial  effect. 
Conversion  practically  may  be  said  to  consist  in  the  utterance  of  a 
formula.     Yet  these  Swahalis,  and  also  their  so-called  converts,  are 
extremely  difficult  to  win  to  Christ :  they  are  so  ignorant,  even  of 
their  own  ignorance,  so  impervious  to  argument,  and   they  cling  so 
stubbornly  to  their  creed."     C.  M.  S.  Report,  1907-1908,  p.  52. 


The  Dervish  Orders  in  Africa  71 

Of  Uganda  some  years  ago  it  was  said:  "It  seems 
more  than  probable  that,  before  many  years  are  past, 
Christianity  or  Islam  will  be  the  dominant  power  among 
the  tribes  around  Uganda  who  are  at  the  moment 
heathen.  The  danger  of  a  Mohammedan  advance  is  one 
to  be  reckoned  with,  because,  even  though  the  adherents 
of  that  faith  in  Central  Africa  may  know  almost  nothing 
of  its  teaching,  and  be  scarcely,  if  at  all,  bound  by  its 
restrictions,  once  the  heathen  have  become,  even  in  name, 
Mohammedan,  our  great  opportunity  is  passed  ;  there  is 
no  longer  an  open  mind.'7 1 

In  Northern  Nigeria,  I  am  informed  that  there  has  been 
as  yet  no  great  advance  of  Islam.  Many  of  the  pagan 
tribes  who  successfully  resisted  Islam  have  been  raided 
and  destroyed  and  the  rest  are  now  protected  by  British 
administration,  but  that  so  distinctly  favours  Islam  that 
it  seems  probable  that  the  Hausa  traders,  who  can  move 
where  they  please  without  any  danger,  may  more  easily 
make  converts.  The  propaganda  does  not  appear  to  be 
carried  on  by  any  of  the  Dervish  orders  but  by  the  ordi- 
nary Moslems.  Many  of  the  Mussulmans  are,  from  a 
Mohammedan  standpoint,  fairly  well  educated.  They 
belong  to  the  Maliki  mezheb  and  read  the  Koran.  The 
commentaries  of  Baidawi,  the  traditions  of  Bukhari  and 
the  works  of  Ghazali  are  studied.  They  are  quite  able  to 
carry  on  mission  work  and  would  probably  resent  the 
aid  of  Dervishes.  In  the  cities  of  Zana  and  Kano,  owing 
to  some  conversions  from  Islam  to  Christianity,  there  has 
been  a  revival  of  outward  religious  observances,  though 
no  organized  efforts  to  gain  the  pagan  tribes  are  apparent. 

In  Southern  Nigeria,  the  advance  of  Islam  has  been 
more  rapid,  and  the  pagan  races  there  are  intellectually 
and  socially  lower  than  those  of  the  north.  The  propa- 
ganda is  carried  on  by  Hausa  Moslems,  some  of  whom 
1  C.  M.  8.  Intelligencer,  July,  1904. 


72  Islam  and  Missions 

belong  to  the  Tijaniya,  the  active  Dervish  Order  which 
eighty  years  ago  obtained  a  footing  in  the  Hausa  country. 

The  Synod  of  western  equatorial  Africa  (1908)  passed 
the  following  resolution :  "  That  the  rapid  growth  of 
Mohammedanism  in  the  Yoruba  country  calls  for  serious 
and  prompt  action  on  the  part  of  the  Church. " 

In  the  Nupe  district  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Niger, 
owing  to  slave  raids  and  civil  wars  in  the  past,  the  inde- 
pendent pagan  tribes  have  been  destroyed.  The  towns- 
people are  mainly  Moslems  and  the  village  people  nom- 
inally so,  but  they  are  left  very  much  to  themselves,  and 
in  some  places  the  village  mosque  is  in  ruins.  The  chiefs 
in  the  towns  use  means  to  prevent  pagan  young  men 
from  learning  about  Christianity.  By  a  recent  order 
many  of  these  chiefs  have  been  directed  to  leave  the  towns 
and  live  in  districts,  as  district  chiefs.  This  leads  to  a 
revival  of  such  Mohammedanism  as  there  is  in  the  vil- 
lages. The  Tijaniya  Order  is  strong  and  influential  in 
Bida  and  the  district.  It  was  Dervishes  of  this  order 
who  stood  by  the  ex-Emir  of  Sokoto  in  his  last  fight  with 
the  British,  when  many  were  slain.  The  political  settle- 
ment of  the  country  favours  the  advance  of  Islam,  for  it 
is  stated  that  the  government  to  outward  appearance 
favours  it.  One  writer  says  :  "  Circumcision  of  pagan 
recruits  for  the  army  and  freed  slave  pagan  children  ; 
the  handling  over  of  little  pagan  girls  and  boys,  saved 
from  slavery,  to  the  care  of  Moslem  Emirs,  with  the  prob- 
ability of  their  becoming  Moslems  and  members  of  Mo- 
hammedan harems ;  subscriptions  of  government  to 
building  and  repairing  of  mosques  ;  attendance  at  Mo- 
hammedan festivals  by  government  officials,  as  represent- 
atives ;  the  gradual  reduction  of  strong  pagan  tribes — 
who  for  generations  had  held  out  against  the  Mohammedan 
raiders  successfully — and  bringing  them  under  the  rule 
of,  and  to  pay  taxes  to,  these  same  old  enemies  j  these 


The  Dervish  Orders  in  Africa  73 

and  many  other  things  show  the  tendency  of  the  govern- 
ment policy."  l 

Dr.  Kumm,  who  represents  the  Sudan  United  Mission 
which  works  in  Northern  Nigeria,  reports  the  case  of  a 
large  tribe  recently  conquered,  the  chief  of  which  is  now 
a  Moslem  worshipping  at  a  mosque  recently  erected.  The 
case  will  be  the  same  with  other  tribes  reduced  to  subjec- 
tion by  the  British  government.  He  expected  that  the 
Munchis,  one  of  the  very  finest  of  African  tribes,  would 
be  subdued  within  a  year,  and  so  forced  to  open  its  doors 
to  Islam.  He  adds  :  u  Not  one  of  these  tribes  would  have 
let  a  Mohammedan  trader  or  missionary  into  their  coun- 
tries before  British  arms  conquered  them."2  The 
United  Sudan  Mission,  by  its  hospitals,  orphanages  and 
schools  is  beginning  an  excellent  work  and  none  too  soon. 

In  Sierra  Leone  the  advance  is  steady.  The  C.  M.  S. 
Gazette  for  October,  1910,  thus  reports  the  progress  in  the 
Mendi  country,  about  one  hundred  miles  south  of  Sierra 
Leone  :  "  The  introduction  of  Mohammedanism  into  this 
land  is  of  recent  date.  Many  a  native  town  once  inno- 
cent of  the  influence  of  the  prophet  now  owns  a  mosque 
or  two.  The  propagandism  is  not  conducted  by  any 
special  order  of  priests  set  apart  for  the  purpose,  but 
every  Mussulman  is  an  active  missionary.  Some  half  a 
dozen  of  them,  more  or  less,  meeting  in  a  town,  where 
they  intend  to  reside  for  any  length  of  time,  soon  run  up 
a  mosque  and  begin  work.  They  first  approach  the  chief 
of  the  town  and  obtain  his  consent  to  their  intended  act, 
and  perhaps  his  promise  to  become  an  adherent.  They 
teach  him  their  prayers  in  Arabic,  or  as  much  as  he  can, 
or  cares  to,  commit  to  memory.  They  put  him  through 
the  forms  and  ceremonies  used  in  praying,  forbid  him  the 

1  W.  R.  S.  Miller  in  the  Annual  Report  of  the  United  Sudan  Mission, 
p.  62. 

9  Annual  Report  of  the  United  Sudan  Mission,  p.  16. 


74  Islam  and  Missions 

use  of  alcoholic  beverages — a  restriction  as  often  observed 
as  not — and,  lo  !  the  man  is  a  convert.  Little  or  no 
further  trouble  is  taken  to  instruct  him  in  the  tenets  of 
the  religion,  nor  does  he  need  to  forsake  any  of  those 
habits  and  practices  he  was  addicted  to  when  a  heathen. 

"  There  is  still  time  to  meet  the  evil  if  only  prompt 
measures  are  taken.  The  hold  of  Mohammedanism  on 
the  minds  of  the  people  in  Mendiland  is  at  present  slight, 
and  a  vigorous,  well-sustained  push  onwards  on  the  part 
of  Christians  would,  without  much  trouble,  roll  back  the 
tide  j  but  if  allowed  time,  the  sway  of  the  prophet  will 
increase." 

The  Governor  of  Nyassa  is  reported  to  have  said : 
"Twenty  years  ago,  when  I  first  knew  Nyassaland,  Mo- 
hammedanism was  almost  non-existent  except  at  one  or 
two  spots,  where  it  had  been  brought  in  by  the  Arabs. 
Since  then,  it  has  spread  greatly,  particularly  during 
the  last  eight  or  ten  years.  The  Yaos  are  the  tribe  who 
have  taken  to  Moslem  teaching  mostly.  On  the  other 
hand,  among  the  tribes  to  the  west  of  Lake  Nyassa,  there 
is  hardly  any  Mohammedanism.  Here  the  Scotch  mis- 
sionaries have  a  strong  hold  on  the  people,  who  have 
taken  up  Christianity  with  great  enthusiasm. 

"The  spread  of  Mohammedanism  to  Nyassaland  has 
been  from  the  east  coast  of  Africa  (not  from  the  Sudan), 
and  is  due  largely  to  the  Arabs  from  Zanzibar.  The 
movement  has  grown  of  itself  j  there  has  been  nothing 
in  the  shape  of  a  propaganda.  All  through  Yaoland 
— that  is  to  say,  from  Lake  Nyassa  to  the  East  Coast — 
there  is  in  almost  every  village  a  mosque  and  a  Moslem 
teacher. 

"  The  Protectorate  Government  has  taken  up  an  im- 
partial line,  and  has  taken  no  side  in  religious  differences. 
There  is  no  fear  of  any  danger  as  long  as  this  attitude  of 
impartiality  is  observed.  Neither  do  I  think  that  this 


The  Dervish  Orders  in  Africa  75 

Mohammedan  movement  is  likely  to  spread  south  of  the 
Zambezi  owing  to  strong  European  influences  there." 

This  statement  shows  how  important  it  is  that  Chris- 
tianity should  be  first  in  the  field. 

In  Ehodesia  there  is  no  organized  Moslem  propaganda, 
but  amongst  workers  for  the  mines  who  come  from  the 
lake  regions  there  are  a  few  Moslems. 

In  South  Africa  Islam  has  not  been  at  all  aggressive. 
South  of  the  Zambezi  the  Moslem  question  is  not  yet  an 
acute  one. 

The  conclusion  clearly  is  that  there  is  a  loud  call  to  the 
Church  to  support  vigorously  missions  in  Africa,  which 
are  endeavouring  to  forestall  the  operations  of  Islam 
among  the  pagan  races.  Never  before  has  the  crisis  been 
so  acute.  The  Moslem  advance  in  Africa  is  so  extensive, 
so  constant,  and  so  rapid  that  the  speedy  evangelization 
of  the  pagan  people  there  is  the  most  urgent  work  upon 
which  the  Church  is  now  invited  to  enter.  If  it  is  not 
done  without  delay,  large  parts  of  Africa  will  be  almost 
irretrievably  lost,  for  her  teeming  millions  will  have  en- 
tered into  the  fold  of  Islam. 


THE  MOSLEM  ADVANCE  IN  AFEICA 
PROF.  CARL  MEINHOFF,  LL.  D.,  HAMBURG 

WHILE  Islam  is  steadily  retreating  from  the 
European  continent,  and  as  steadily  declining 
in  power  and  influence,  this  is  not  the  case  as 
regards  the  contact  of  Islam  with  African  paganism. 
According  to  the  unanimous  opinion  of  experts,  the  Mo- 
hammedan religion  is  by  no  means  dying  out,  but  is 
making  considerable,  and  even  ominous  progress  in 
Africa. 

How  is  this  possible  ? 

Wiirtz  has  laid  special  emphasis  on  the  fact  that  the 
pacification  of  heathen  countries  and  the  suppression  of 
the  slave  trade  have  been  favourable  to  the  spread  of 
Islam.1  Since  the  Mohammedan  intruders  are  no  longer 
allowed  to  raid  and  enslave  the  heathen,  it  is  no  longer 
to  their  interest  that  the  latter  should  remain  heathen, 
and  accordingly  they  are  content  to  extend  their  influ- 
ence and  their  power  by  way  of  peaceable  trading  expe- 
ditions. At  the  same  time  their  tacit  opposition  to 
European  civilization  is  all  in  their  favour.  The  state  of 
peace  and  security,  which  the  African  has  gained  through 
the  establishment  of  European  government,  is  accom- 
panied by  the  feeling  that  he  is  being  ruled  by  strange 
and  frequently  very  uncomfortable  people.  As  the  recol- 
lection of  former  sufferings  fades  out  of  his  memory,  this 

1  Compare  F.  Wiirtz:  "Die  Mohammedanische  Gefahr  in  West- 
afrika  "  ;  Easier,  "  Missionsstudien, "  p.  21;  Verlag,  "  Der  Easier  Mis- 
eionabnchhandlg." 

76 


Mosque  at  Mombasa,  British  East  Africa 


The  Moslem  Advance  in  Africa  77 

contrast  presents  itself  more  clearly  to  his  consciousness  ; 
and  this  state  of  feeling  is  reinforced  and  supported  by 
the  Arabs,  who  form  the  real  nucleus  of  the  Mohammedan 
world. 

This  state  of  things  is  also  favoured  by  the  religious 
freedom  guaranteed  by  Protestant  governments.  The 
delicate  consideration  for  the  religious  feelings  of  others 
shown,  as  a  rule,  by  Protestants,  is  almost  unknown  else- 
where, and  the  terrorism  exercised  by  Mohammedan 
communities  is  well  known,  and  is  a  serious  obstacle  to 
missions.  It  cannot,  of  course,  be  openly  manifested  in 
European  colonies,  but  is  active  enough  under  the  sur- 
face, and  plays  an  important  part  in  the  steady  progress 
of  Islam. 

In  East  Africa,  Islam  shows  itself  in  the  first  instance 
as  a  social  factor  of  great  significance.  The  educated  and 
influential  Mohammedans  of  the  coast  overawe  the  poor 
and  illiterate  man  from  the  interior.  In  this  way,  all 
who  are  in  any  way  dependent  on  the  Mohammedans 
easily  adopt  one  article  of  their  creed  after  another,  and 
thus  are  speedily  included  in  the  Moslem  sphere  of  influ- 
ence. 

There  remains  an  enormous  gap  between  the  European 
and  the  African.  The  Moslem  allows  the  gap  which  sep- 
arates him  from  the  negro  to  be  filled  up  by  a  series  of 
gradations,  and  thus  ensures  the  spread  of  his  influence. 
Mixed  races,  such  as  the  Swahili  in  East  Africa  and  the 
Hausas  of  the  Western  Sudan,  represent  such  transition 
forms,  and  have  furnished  the  Moslem  with  a  potent  in- 
strument for  extending  his  culture,  in  the  shape  of  their 
languages,  which  are  the  lingua  franca  of  trade  and  the 
medium  of  communication  over  enormous  tracts  of  coun- 
try, and  are  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  Mohammedanism. 
This  social  influence  of  Islam  is  the  work,  not  only  of  Arab, 
Indian,  and  African  traders  and  chiefs,  but  also  of  the 


78  Islam  and  Missions 

Moslem  officials  and  soldiers  employed  by  Christian  col- 
onizing powers.  The  belief  that  Islam  is  the  best  religion 
for  the  African  has  even  led  some  Europeans  to  accord 
unduly  favourable  treatment  to  this  religion. 

Even  if  this  opinion  were  correct,  Islam  would  be  cer- 
tain to  do  what  it  has  always  done  and  what,  by  its  very 
nature,  it  must  do — estrange  men's  feelings  from  the 
European  government  and  place  them  under  the  influ- 
ence of  an  extra-European  power.  Mecca  so  becomes  the 
centre  of  their  thought,  and  the  connection  with  this 
focus  of  Moslem  life  is  kept  up  by  means  of  the  pilgrim- 
age and  of  literature.  This  cannot  be  to  the  advantage 
of  any  European  government,  especially  since  we  never 
know  when  a  terrible  outburst  may  take  place,  as  once 
happened  in  the  Sudan. 

But  is  the  African  in  truth  predestined  to  Islam  ?  *  We 
hear  this  phrase  so  often  that  I  feel  compelled  to  dwell  on 
it  a  little.  Its  justification  is  simply  this — that  the 
African  lives,  so  to  speak,  in  the  ancient  world,  and  the 
Moslem  in  the  Middle  Ages.  His  culture  and  way  of 
thinking  impress  the  African  as  being  on  a  higher  plane, 
and  up  to  a  certain  point  they  are  intelligible  to  him, 
while  our  modern  European  culture  is  so  distant  from 

1  Sir  'H.  H.  Johnston  points  out  in  his  valuable  article  (Nineteenth 
Century,  June,  1910)  that  Islam  has  had  twelve  hundred  years  in 
which  to  conquer  Africa  and  has  not  yet  done  so.  This,  again,  is 
scarcely  a  proof  that  the  African  is  predestined  to  Islam.  I  would 
also  like  to  remind  you  how  arduous  was  the  struggle,  prolonged 
through  several  centuries,  which  was  necessary  to  prevent  Europe 
from  falling  a  prey  to  Islam.  Africa  had  no  resources  which  would 
have  enabled  it  to  offer  a  similar  opposition. 

Sir  H.  H.  Johnston  further  points  out  that  the  regions  of  Africa 
which  are  inaccessible  to  civilization,  or  nearly  so,  are  not  the  heathen, 
but  the  Mohammedan  ones,  and  that  heathen  Africa  has  been  opened 
up,  not  by  the  warrior,  but  by  the  missionary.  Livingstone,  Krapf, 
Rebmann,  Mackay  and  others  have  shown  the  way. 


The  Moslem  Advance  in  Africa  79 

him,  and  so  alien  from  all  his  inherited  ways  of  think- 
ing, that  it  is  difficult  for  him  to  find  any  points  of  con- 
tact. 

In  addition  to  this,  we  must  remember  that,  apart  from 
South  Africa,  European  culture  has  never  presented  it- 
self to  Africans  as  a  compact  whole,  as  that  of  Islam  has 
done,  but  only  in  the  shape  of  individual  representatives, 
differing  widely  among  themselves.  I  need  only  remind 
you  of  the  officials,  merchants  and  missionaries  to  be 
found  in  European  colonies.  The  African  is  scarcely  to 
blame,  if  he  fails  to  gain  from  these  representatives  any 
clear  notion  of  European  culture,  and  finds  them  so 
strange  and  incomprehensible  as  to  feel  himself  repelled 
by  them.  This  state  of  things  has  already  improved,  and 
will  improve  still  more  as  European  elements  of  culture, 
such  as  railways  and  steamships,  are  introduced,  and  as 
the  labour  of  the  free  African  supplies  the  European 
market  with  goods.  As  a  result  of  this,  European  goods, 
European  machinery,  and  European  thought  will  become 
better  and  better  known,  and  European  ways  will  lose 
much  of  their  strangeness. 

If  we  can  speak  of  any  peoples  as  predestined  to  Islam, 
it  must  be  such  warlike  tribes  as  the  Fulas  in  West 
Africa.  It  can  certainly  not  be  said  of  the  negro  tribes 
properly  so  called.  But  as  the  most  warlike  of  all  peo- 
ples, the  Teutonic  race,  profess  Christianity  and  not 
Islam,  I  cannot  allow  much  weight  to  this  alleged  pre- 
destination ;  neither  do  I  see  to  whose  interest  it  would  be 
for  them  to  become  Mohammedans— certainly  not  to  that 
of  the  European  powers. 

The  notion  of  the  negro  race  being  predestined  to  Islam 
seems  in  the  main  to  be  based  on  the  fact  that  Islam 
tolerates  and  even  legalizes  the  polygamy  which  is  prac- 
tically universal  in  Africa.  Some  writers  are  very  fond 
of  dwelling  on  the  unbridled  sensuality  of  the  African. 


80  Islam  and  Missions 

But  the  experience  resulting  from  European  colonization 
lias  shown  that  in  this  respect  the  European  as  a  rule 
does  not  materially  differ  from  the  African.  Yet  in  spite 
of  this,  monogamy  has  been  established  and  maintained 
as  the  ideal  in  Europe.  And  the  gradual  elimination  of 
polygamy  is  one  of  the  most  important  problems  which 
colonial  governments  will  have  to  deal  with  ;  for  thus 
only  can  law  and  morality  be  placed  on  a  secure  founda- 
tion, and  the  serious  economic  evils  connected  with 
polygamy  be  remedied.  So  far  as  I  can  see,  it  cannot  be 
to  the  advantage  of  any  colonial  government  to  preserve 
polygamy.  It  is,  like  slavery,  one  of  the  worst  hin- 
drances to  true  civilization  and  economic  progress. 

What,  then,  has  hitherto  been  the  attitude  of  missions 
towards  Islam  in  Africa  f  Throughout  a  great  part  of 
the  continent — the  north  and  east — Islam  is  in  possession 
and  is  quickly  advancing,  less,  however,  through  the 
agency  of  individual  propagandists  than  by  means  of  the 
social  influences  already  mentioned,  whose  action  is 
farther  emphasized  and  reinforced  in  a  religious  sense  by 
the  activity  of  the  Moslem  teacher.  It  has  often  been  said 
that  the  transition  from  paganism  to  Christianity  is  very 
much  more  abrupt  than  that  to  Islam.  But  in  addition 
to  this,  the  Mohammedan  recognizes,  in  religion  as  in 
other  matters,  a  variety  of  intermediate  stages.  He  is 
satisfied,  especially  at  the  beginning,  with  a  very  slight 
degree  of  adhesion  to  Islam.  It  is  by  no  means  all  con- 
verts, but  only  a  few  individuals  here  and  there  who  pay 
any  attention  to  the  deeper  religious  requirements.  No 
abrupt  break  with  polygamous  conditions  is  demanded, 
as  is  the  case  in  Christian  missions  ;  while  magical  prac- 
tices and  other  superstitions  are  tolerated.  The  convert 
thus  loses  nothing,  but  on  the  contrary  gains  in  social 
position  and  consideration,  so  that  his  adhesion  is  almost 
a  matter  of  course. 


The  Moslem  Advance  in  Africa  81 

In  face  of  this  state  of  things,  missions  have  hitherto 
found  themselves  practically  helpless.  Some  soon  dis- 
covered that  words  can  do  nothing  to  counteract  such 
powerful  social  motives  ;  others  have  from  the  first  acted 
under  the  influence  of  the  notion  that  a  mission  to 
Mohammedans  must  be  fruitless.  The  result  was  that 
missionaries  have  rather  avoided  contact  with  Moham- 
medans and  have  devoted  themselves  to  the  heathen. 
"Where  they  had  to  deal  with  pagans  who  had  never  been 
under  Moslem  influence,  they  obtained  satisfactory  re- 
sults ;  but  it  remains  to  be  seen  what  will  be  the  attitude 
of  these  Christian  communities,  when  the  tide  of  Islam 
reaches  them.  When  work  has  been  attempted  among 
pagans  touched  by  Moslem  influence,  the  results  have 
been  startlingly  small. 

What  should  therefore  be  done  t  The  problem  before 
us  is  to  bring  the  gospel  message  to  all  men  because  we 
are  convinced  that  the  Gospel  is  a  message  of  peace  and 
freedom.  We  have  no  right  to  assume  in  the  case  of  any 
human  being  that  he  stands  in  no  need  of  this  consola- 
tion. That  is,  we  must  not  say,  "  It  will  not  do  to  carry 
the  Gospel  to  the  Mohammedans."  We  must  keep  the 
one  thought  in  mind  that  these  people  have  no  real 
spiritual  refreshment,  no  means  of  moral  progress,  and, 
above  all,  we  must  remember  the  deplorable  fate  of  their 
women.  Missionary  work  must  be  an  honest  service  of 
friendship  and  love,  not  propaganda  which  at  bottom  al- 
ways contains  a  grain  of  self-seeking. 

If  we  keep  this  service  of  love  in  mind,  we  shall  no 
longer  seek  to  avoid  contact  with  Islam.  But  we  must  be 
better  equipped  for  such  contact  than  has  hitherto  been 
the  case.  If  a  missionary  imagines  that  he  can  be  of 
service  to  Mohammedans  by  preaching  in  the  same  way 
as  he  does  to  the  African  heathen,  he  is  mistaken.  In 
this  case,  a  wholly  different  set  of  conditions  is  presup- 


82  Islam  and  Missions 

posed,  and  the  Mohammedan  has  every  right  to  expect 
that  we  should  make  serious  efforts  to  enter  into  his  ways 
of  thinking  before  we  demand  that  he  shall  listen  to  us. 
A  careful  study  of  the  Koran  and  of  Moslem  tradition 
and  history  is  therefore  indispensable  for  every  mission- 
ary who  intends  to  work  among  Mohammedans.  Only 
so  can  he  gain  their  confidence  and  acquire  any  in- 
fluence. 

It  is,  of  course,  out  of  the  question  that  missionary 
societies  should  give  up,  or  confine  within  narrower 
limits  the  fruitful  work  they  are  doing  among  heathen 
nations.  Where  they  meet  with  Mohammedans,  they 
should  no  longer  pass  them  by  without  notice,  but  should 
appoint  special,  thoroughly  trained  missionaries  for  this 
work.  Above  all,  we  ought  to  convince  ourselves  that 
the  want  of  success,  in  those  places  where  missionaries 
have  laboured  fruitlessly  for  years  among  pagans  who 
are  under  Mohammedan  influence,  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
no  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  Mohammedans  them- 
selves. It  is  a  hopeless  task  to  combat  the  influence  of 
Islam,  if  we  deliberately  refrain  from  coming  to  an  un- 
derstanding with  the  Mohammedans  themselves. 

What  form  should  this  work  assume  !  It  must  not  be 
exclusively  theological.  The  Moslem  is  quite  accus- 
tomed to  talk  on  theological  subjects,  but  the  premises 
from  which  he  starts  are  different  from  those  assumed  by 
the  Protestant,  and  thus  there  is,  as  a  rule,  little  to  be 
gained  by  such  conversations.  We  must  prepare  the 
ground  for  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel  by  a  series  of  con- 
spicuous and  striking  activities,  which  alone  can  provide 
us  with  a  starting-point  for  a  profitable  preaching  of  the 
Word. 

One  of  the  most  important  aids  to  a  mission  among 
Moslems  is  medical  work  viewed  not  merely  as  a  means 
of  obtaining  converts,  but  also  as  an  exercise  of  charity. 


The  Moslem  Advance  in  Africa  83 

The  superiority  of  European  doctors  is  recognized  by 
Mohammedans,  and  thus  many  a  prejudice  will  be  re- 
moved and  confidence  established. 

Schools  are  another  form  of  activity.  Mohammedans 
are  beginning  to  understand  that  the  knowledge  of  nature 
possessed  by  the  European  is  superior  to  that  of  the  Ori- 
ental. Railways,  steamships  and  telegraphs  are  tokens 
whose  import  cannot  be  mistaken,  and  they  have  quick- 
ened the  wish  for  instruction  by  the  Europeans.  This 
too  in  the  end  has  a  theological  bearing.  We  can  make 
use  of  the  laws  of  nature  to  show  that  God  is  faithful  and 
that  we  can  trust  in  Him.  He  does  not  act  arbitrarily  or 
capriciously,  but  according  to  order  and  law,  both  in 
nature  and  in  the  kingdom  of  His  grace.  Such  consider- 
ations are  diametrically  opposed  to  the  thoughts  of  God 
entertained  by  Mohammedans  and  their  fantastic  belief 
in  all  sorts  of  marvels  and  prodigies. 

The  effects  of  persistent  energy  supported  by  an  intel- 
ligent belief  in  the  divine  government  is  to  be  seen  in 
triumphs  of  natural  science.  The  Moslem,  bowing  before 
the  decree  of  an  inscrutable  fate,  cannot  at  once  grasp 
this  idea  which  opens  an  entirely  new  world  to  him. 
The  European  languages  are  the  key  to  this  new  world. 
A  knowledge  of  them  brings  him  into  touch  with  Euro- 
pean science  and  European  literature.  I  am  aware  that 
there  is  such  a  thing  as  immoral  literature  in  Europe, 
but,  thank  God,  there  is  also  plenty  of  literature  of  a 
wholesome  and  elevating  character,  and  a  knowledge  of 
European  languages  will  make  a  way  for  it  to  the  heart 
of  the  Mohammedan. 

I  must  not  forget  to  refer  to  all  sorts  of  technical  skill, 
the  acquisition  of  which  may  be  of  importance  to  the 
Moslem,  and  which  we  can  offer  him  in  workshops  ar- 
ranged on  the  European  plan  and  managed  by  Europeans. 
All  this  implies  an  educational  activity  which  will  show 


84  Islam  and  Missions 

to  great  advantage  compared  with  the  Koran  schools  of 
the  Arabs. 

One  of  the  most  important  divisions  of  the  subject  is 
certainly  that  relating  to  work  among  women.  No  one, 
however  great  his  admiration  for  Mohammedans  in  gen- 
eral may  be,  can  deny  that  the  lot  of  the  women  is  most 
miserable.  They  remain  in  a  condition  of  deplorable  ig- 
norance and  spiritual  apathy,  while  not  a  few  of  them 
long  for  freedom.  What  is  needed  in  the  first  instance 
is  to  give  them  relief  from  physical  suffering,  and  this 
can  only  be  done  by  women,  since  no  medical  man  is  al- 
lowed access  to  them.  Then,  we  must  seek  to  supply  their 
spiritual  needs  by  teaching,  consolation  and  exhortation. 

Moslem  women  are  often  only  too  eager  to  welcome 
this  work,  and  it  can  only  be  carried  to  its  full  extent 
when  the  young  girls  have  been  inspired  with  some  long- 
ing for  higher  things,  and  their  intellects  have  received 
some  training.  Education  for  girls  is  the  most  obvious 
instrument  for  the  advancement  of  Mohammedan  women, 
and  our  immediate  aim  must  be  the  establishment  of 
schools.  Even  if  at  first  that  only  means  instruction  for 
girls  within  their  own  family  circle,  the  schools  will 
grow  as  time  goes  on,  and  pupils  trained  in  them  will 
form  the  most  efficient  workers.  The  ladies  of  the  mission 
must  become  the  friends  of  the  women,  and  confidence  and 
affection  will  pave  the  way  for  work  among  the  children. 

It  will  be  objected  that  "  all  these  things  are  not  mission 
work."  But  I  think  they  are.  If  we  show  ourselves  to 
the  Mohammedans  as  their  friends,  from  whom  they  may 
learn  what  will  help  them  in  all  their  bodily  and  spiritual 
distresses,  what  are  we  doing  but  obeying  the  command 
of  our  Lord  1  We  may  confidently  leave  all  else  to  time  ; 
till  some  ask  us,  "  By  what  power,  or  by  what  name, 
have  ye  done  this?"  We  wish  to  serve  faithfully  and 
honestly  for  our  Lord's  sake ;  that  will  do  the  greatest 


The  Moslem  Advance  in  Africa  85 

honour  to  His  name  and  please  Him  best.  If  a  mission- 
ary to  Mohammedans,  though  he  has  never  baptized  a 
Mohammedan,  has  yet  established  confidence  and  friend- 
ship in  place  of  the  old  hatred,  surely  this  is  a  great  gain. 

The  prospects  for  Christianity  in  Africa  are  not  so  dis- 
couraging as  many  people  believe. 

The  economic  disadvantages  of  Islam  are  very  great, 
and  polygamy  in  particular  is  a  serious  hindrance  to 
progress.  Under  the  influence  of  Christianity,  which 
undermined  the  foundations  of  polygamy  in  Basutoland, 
the  old  hoe  culture  of  Africa  has  given  way  to  the  plough, 
and  this  marks  the  dawn  of  a  new  era. 

South  Africa,  with  its  many  Christian  natives,  is  to- 
day trying  to  come  into  touch  with  the  negro  church  of 
America ;  and  though  this  movement  at  present  fre- 
quently shows  itself  in  immature  and  reactionary  forms, 
it  already  shows  signs  of  settling  down  to  an  orderly  prog- 
ress. Thus  the  old  African  curse  of  slavery  will  give 
birth  to  new  aids  towards  establishing  the  Christian  na- 
tive in  the  faith. 

I  should  like  to  refer  to  another  source  of  help,  of 
which  we  might  take  advantage,  namely  the  numerous 
Euro- African  half  castes  whose  existence  we  may  deplore 
but  cannot  deny.  Since  they  do  exist,  every  effort  ought 
to  be  made  to  give  them  a  sound  European  and  Christian 
education.  They  would  then  form  a  connecting  link  be- 
tween Europeans  and  Africans,  in  the  same  way  as  the 
half  caste  descendants  of  Africans  and  Arabs  render  the 
greatest  service  to  the  latter  as  regards  their  mental  and 
moral  influence  on  the  natives.  As  already  stated,  it 
would  be  better  if  the  half  castes  did  not  exist,  but  since 
they  do  exist,  we  have  to  save  them  from  deterioration 
and  to  enlist  their  services  on  behalf  of  Europe. 

The  same  principle  may  be  applied  to  the  Swahili  and 
Hausa  languages  which,  pervaded  as  they  are  by  Moslem 


86  Islam  and  Missions 

elements,  are  the  medium  of  communication  for  consid- 
erable areas,  and  the  most  efficient  agency  for  populariz- 
ing the  Mohammedan  religion.  The  utility  of  these  lan- 
guages, however,  is  so  great  that  there  is  no  object  in 
trying  to  check  their  spread.  It  will  be  much  wiser  to 
use  them  as  instruments  for  missionary  work,  and  fill 
them  with  a  Christian  spirit,  as  they  had  previously  been 
imbued  with  the  spirit  of  Islam.  This  will  involve  the 
further  advantage  that  the  linguistic  diversity  of  Africa 
will  cease  to  be  an  obstacle  to  the  formation  of  larger 
church  organizations.  The  use  of  these  languages  renders 
possible  the  establishment  of  a  Christian  press  in  touch 
with  large  areas,  and  ensures  the  action  of  the  Word  on 
people  who  could  not  otherwise  be  reached.  Wherever 
Islam  has  carried  the  Arabic  language  and  characters,  a 
book  or  newspaper  written  in  Arabic  can  find  its  way  :  a 
circumstance  to  which  more  attention  might  well  be  paid 
than  has  hitherto  been  done. 

But,  we  need  scarcely  say,  our  final  and  highest  trust 
in  the  victory  of  the  Cross  over  the  crescent  does  not  rest 
on  any  of  these  things,  but  on  the  power  of  truth,  and 
faith  in  Him  who  is  Himself  the  Truth,  Jesus  Christ.1 

1  A  more  detailed  proof  of  the  propositions  I  have  advanced  will  be 
found  in  the  following  articles  : 

"  Zwingt  uns  die  Heidenmission  Muhammedanermission  zu  trei- 
ben?"  Verlag  der  deutschen  Orientmission,  1906.  Gross-Lichterfelde. 

"Die  Bedeutung  der  Muhammedanermission  fur  die  Heidenmis, 
sion."  Verlag  der  deutschen  Orientmission,  1906.  Gross-Lichterfelde. 

' '  Mission  uud  Islam  in  Ostaf  rika  ' '    Ev.  Missionsmagazin,  Basel,  1907. 

"  Wege  zum  Herzen  des  Muhammedaners. "  Sudan  Pioniermission- 
Wiesbaden,  Emserstr.  12;  1909. 

"  Die  Mohammedanische  Gefahr  in  Afrika  unddie  Einheitssprache." 
Ev.  Missionsmagazin,  Basel,  1909. 

"  Warum  darf  die  Christliche  Mission  vor  dem  Islam  nicht  Halt 
machen  ? ' '  Verhandlungen  der  kontinentalen  Missionslconferenz, 
Bremen,  1909. 


VI 

PAN-ISLAMISM  IN  MALAYSIA 
REV.  G.  SIMON,  SUMATRA 

I.    THE  ALL-PERMEATING  INFLUENCE  OF  THE 
PILGRIMAGE  TO  MECCA 

PAN-ISLAMIC  ideals  have  their  origin  for  the  most 
part  in  Mecca.  In  Mecca  one  hears  about  the 
holy  wars  of  the  faithful  against  the  Christians, 
the  "  possessors  of  Holy  Writ,"  who  are  still  more 
wicked  than  unbelievers.  At  the  present  time  they  have 
the  power  entirely,  but  Allah  will  one  day  take  it  from 
them. 

One  learns  in  Mecca  the  wonderful  story  that  the 
Sultan  of  Stamboul  in  Europe  has  overthrown  the  six 
other  emperors  and  that  they  have  to  send  him  a  yearly 
tribute.  On  this  account  an  Indian  prince  tries  in 
the  most  roundabout  ways  to  derive  his  honour,  and, 
wherever  possible,  his  descent  from  the  Emperor  of 
Stamboul,  for  above  him  there  now  stands  only  God. 
One  is  there  able  to  gain  information  as  to  the  future 
building  up  of  the  Moslem  world. 

The  East  Indian  Archipelago  is  being  more  and  more 
brought  into  union  with  Mecca,  and  Mecca  is  the  spirit- 
ual head  of  Islam.  The  feeling  of  the  solidarity  of  all 
believers,  the  sense  of  being  part  of  a  higher  unity, 
works  in  the  most  overpowering  manner  upon  the 
solitary  islander.  It  is  not  necessary  that  in  Mecca  the 
pilgrim  should  exactly  take  up  politics,  but  at  all  events 
he  will  imbibe  a  deep  hatred  against  all  Christian  powers. 
The  chief  Sherif  of  Mecca  stands  in  close  relation  with 
Turkey,  and  so  the  Hajis  come  into  contact  with  thepan- 

87 


88  Islam  and  Missions 

Islamic  movement.  It  seems  clear  that  many  insurrec- 
tionary risings  in  the  Dutch  East  Indies  have  been 
instigated  by  the  Hajis.  The  pilgrimage  is  the  mortar 
which  cements  together  the  scattered  peoples.  Thus 
through  it  a  small  insignificant  people  becomes  part  of  a 
vigorous  living  whole. 

Yes,  undoubtedly  in  Mecca  the  pan-Islamic  ideal  is  al- 
ready realized  in  miniature.  Independent  and  free,  one 
is  there  united  in  one  spirit,  and  in  one  speech.  The 
world  is  represented  there  by  a  multitude  of  people  of 
whose  existence  the  simple  rice-cultivator  in  his  primi- 
tive woods  guesses  nothing.  He  sees  there  that  the 
promise  that  the  faith  of  Islam  should  be  the  one  true 
religion  for  all  people  is  undoubtedly  true.  The 
pilgrimage  is  the  military  review  of  Islam,  a  foretaste  of 
the  coming  golden  age ;  and  the  pilgrim  returns  home 
animated  by  the  firm  resolution  henceforth  to  live  and  to 
die  for  the  realization  of  this  ideal  of  unity.  Each  Haji 
is  the  bearer  of  the  Mohammedan  propaganda,  that  gives 
him  his  significance. 

It  is  the  same  in  Africa.  By  the  Blue  Nile  the 
pilgrims  have  founded  a  particular  state — Gallaland — 
from  which  their  influence  is  spread  on  all  sides.  That 
which  the  Christian  churches  obtain  by  means  of  great 
financial  offerings,  through  such  powerful  and  extensive 
establishments  as  organized  churches  and  organized  mis- 
sionary management,  is  afforded  to  Islam  by  these  jour- 
neys to  Mecca  ;  and  what  a  religious  community  requires, 
whether  clergyman  and  teacher,  leader  and  missionary, 
scholar  and  science,  Mecca  likewise  provides. 

But  it  is  more  important  that  the  pilgrim  and  still  more 
that  the  student  actually  does  assimilate  in  Mecca  a  cer- 
tain proportion  of  Mohammedan  thought.  Without 
doubt  the  ignorance  of  many  pilgrims  is  great.  Many  of 
them  go  home  just  as  they  came.  They  did  not  under- 


Pan-Islamism  in  Malaysia  89 

stand  the  meaning  of  the  ceremonies,  still  less  the  dis- 
courses of  the  learned  men.  But  it  is  one  and  the  same 
whether  they  take  home  much  or  little  knowledge. 
Each  pilgrim  propagates  what  he  has  learned  in  Arabia. 
An  unbroken  stream  of  pilgrims  flows  to  and  fro. 
Through  these  small  arteries  and  veins  the  fresh  blood  of 
Meccan  enthusiasm  and  Arabian  style  of  thought  per- 
meate the  whole  Moslem  body.  The  Mecca  pilgrim  car- 
ries the  great  pan- Islamic  idea  into  the  most  remote 
mountain  villages. 

The  more  the  pilgrim  from  the  Indian  Islands  looks  up 
to  the  Arabized  teachers,  who  are  his  compatriots,  and 
the  more  he  admires  the  literary  productions  of  their 
genius,  the  less  he  values  his  own  nationality.  This  is  a 
further  noteworthy  result  of  the  Mecca  pilgrimage.  The 
pilgrim  at  Mecca  behaves  modestly  because  he  regards 
the  old  national  traditions  of  his  home  country  as  worth- 
less. The  coming  of  Islam  has  become  in  their  opinion 
the  beginning  of  culture.  We  can  understand  why  pil- 
grims have  no  comprehension  of  patriotism. 

Even  the  most  recently  arrived  pilgrims,  says  Shouck 
Hurgronje,  look  upon  their  home  as  a  refuse  heap  be- 
cause there  the  outside  forms  of  life  always  remind  them 
of  a  heathenish  past,  while  in  Mecca  everything  suggests 
the  Moslem  creed.  "They  sacrifice  each  patriotic 
thought,  each  inclination  towards  home  customs  to  the 
uplifting  consciousness  of  their  oneness  with  the  Moslem 
kingdom.'7  In  the  proud  assurance  of  their  progress, 
they  look  down  with  contempt  on  the  unclean  society  to 
which  they  once  belonged.  The  homeward  bound  Hajis 
have  become  other  men,  they  have  laid  aside  their  na- 
tional individuality  with  open  eyes ;  they  have  now  in- 
deed become  true  Mohammedans. 

One  must  be  careful  while  insisting  on  its  close  connec- 
tion with  Mecca  not  to  undervalue  the  Islamism  of  the 


90  Islam  and  Missions 

Indian  Islands.  One  is  principally  disposed  to  consider 
Indian  Islamism  as  having  little  vitality ;  it  is  under 
organized ;  too  much  mixed  up  with  heathenish  elements  j 
too  mechanical ;  too  childishly  naive  for  one  to  be  able 
to  place  it  on  the  same  plane  as  genuine  Mohammedan- 
ism. What  we  have  learned  thus  far  is  all  mechanical 
and  lifeless,  particularly  the  ritual  of  prayer  exercises 
and  the  yearly  fasts,  and  at  the  best  it  seems  only  to  be  of 
a  temporary  character.  But  do  not  let  us  forget  their 
union  with  Mecca !  It  steadily  works  towards  abandon- 
ment of  the  simple  and  primitive,  and  the  casting  of  the 
thought  of  the  Indonesian  peoples  more  and  more  in  the 
mould  of  the  Arabian  spirit. 

Clearly  two  religious  powers  are  struggling  with  each 
other  in  the  Mohammedanism  of  the  Indian  Islands  :  the 
East  Indian  Animism  and  the  Monotheism  of  Arabian  Is- 
lam, so  little  of  which  is  known  to  the  people.  That  Is- 
lam has  the  power  partly  to  absorb  Animism,  partly  to 
reject  it,  is  only  explicable  by  this  Arabian  influence  which 
streams  over  India  through  the  union  with  Mecca.  We 
must  remember  what  a  small  amount  of  knowledge  the 
people  possess ;  how  powerfully  Animism  still  governs 
the  people ;  yes,  how,  notwithstanding  all,  Animism  has 
discovered  a  back  door  through  which  it  can  come  back 
again  to  its  old  place  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  together 
with  the  new  religious  formularies. 

II.    PAN-ISLAMISM  AND  THE  COLONIAL  EMPIRE 

Everywhere  in  the  Dutch  East  Indies  one  beholds  in 
the  Sultan  of  Turkey  the  ruler  of  all  the  faithful,  the 
Caliph,  the  representative  of  the  prophet.  In  him  is  in- 
corporated the  Mohammedan  hope  of  the  gathering  to- 
gether of  all  Moslems. 

The  question  as  to  whether  the  Sultan  has  the  right  or 
not  of  looking  upon  himself  as  the  over-lord  of  all  the 
faithful  has  no  practical  signification.  He  may  have 


Pan-Islamism  in  Malaysia  91 

even  as  little  right  to  the  position  as  many  other  princes 
in  Morocco  and  India  who  also  style  themselves  Caliphs 
and  successors  of  the  prophet.  As  so  often  happens  in 
Islam  what  in  theory  is  held  to  be  quite  impossible  in 
this  case  has  become  to  some  extent  actual.  * '  In  him 
are  centred  even  the  ambitious  aspirations  of  the  Mos- 
lem world."  Even  amongst  the  heathen  tribes  one  hears 
of  a  mythical,  powerful  prince  of  Stamboul. 

The  silent  hope  of  a  future  coming  of  the  prince  of 
Stamboul  makes  it  easier  for  the  Mohammedan  to  put  up 
quietly  for  a  time  with  the  rule  of  Christian  Europeans. 
One  must  bear  the  present  Christian  regime  as  a  trial 
laid  by  Allah  in  his  wisdom  upon  the  faithful.  "  When 
you  look  to  Paradise,  the  very  fact  of  your  present  op- 
pressed condition/7  says  the  Mecca  pilgrim  to  the  impa- 
tient believers,  "is  a  sign  that  things  will  go  better  for 
you  in  the  future.  If  the  white  people  are  in  this  present 
time  wiser  and  mightier,  so  will  they  in  eternity  be  the 
fuel  in  hell." 

But  the  Mecca  pilgrim  knows  something  still  better 
than  such  promises  for  the  future.  Already  in  the  pres- 
ent has  the  God  of  Islam  been  merciful  to  him  and  given 
him  a  powerful  Head,  who  is  the  Turkish  Sultan.  He  is 
certainly  the  greatest  prince  in  Europe.  All  the  other 
Christian  states  are  subject  to  him  and  on  that  account 
they  all  have  their  delegates  at  his  court.  Even  the  Em- 
peror of  Germany  also  pays  him  homage  with  presents. 
So  runs  the  talk  amongst  the  people.  The  Sultan  sends 
out  from  his  kingdom  railways,  telephones  and  tele- 
graphs ;  for  all  these  are  manufactured  in  his  kingdom. 
In  the  future  he  will  therefore  come  and  annihilate  the 
Christian  dominion  in  a  holy  war.  For  this  reason  in 
many  mosques  prayers  are  offered  for  the  Sultan  as  the 
lawful  prince  of  the  Dutch  East  Indies. 

These  ideas  are  certainly  not  entirely  new  in  the  Dutch 


92  Islam  and  Missions 

East  Indies,  as  we  have  already  seen.  They  are  uni- 
versal. In  1875,  Missionary  Zimmer  of  Borneo  reported 
that  the  Mohammedans  say  the  same  thing  there,  that  all 
European  states  must  pay  tribute  to  the  Sultan  and  that 
he  will  one  day  become  lord  over  them  all.  A  Haji  of 
Borneo  told  Elder  Julius  that  as  soon  as  the  Sultan  of 
Turkey  came  he  would  sweep  away  all  people  from  the 
earth  or  else  convert  them  to  Islam. 

The  fanaticism  of  the  Senusis  in  the  Sudan  who  re- 
proached the  Sultan  with  defilement,  through  his  connec- 
tion with  unbelievers  and  Western  customs,  is  foreign  to 
the  Indian  Islander.  On  the  contrary,  the  situation  di- 
rectly shows  that  the  Sultan  promotes  Western  culture, 
fosters  intercourse  with  the  great  powers,  that  he  has  a 
commission  from  God  to  be  the  protector  of  Islam. 

Without  doubt  this  keeping  the  Sultan  present  in  the 
mind  of  the  Mohammedan  is  a  result  of  active  inter  course 
with  Mecca.  This  result,  however,  does  not  depend  on 
the  influence  of  the  Arabs,  for  they,  as  is  well  known,  do 
not  want  the  Sultan,  and  consider  themselves  the  first 
nation.  One  sees  here  that  at  the  present  time  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Mecca  pilgrim  and  the  recruiting  officer  for 
the  pilgrimage  is  stronger  than  that  of  the  Arabian  mer- 
chants. 

It  is  not  clear  how  far  the  Porte  nourishes  such  thoughts 
in  the  hearts  of  the  people.  In  1896  Dutch  newspapers 
brought  news  bearing  on  this,  in  regard  to  which,  how- 
ever, the  foreign  minister  explained  that  the  Porte  had 
maintained  a  correct  attitude.  Eemarkable  is  the  decla- 
ration that  children  from  the  Dutch  East  Indies  were  to 
be  taken  to  Constantinople  in  order  to  be  educated  at  the 
expense  of  the  Sultan.  This  has  been  forbidden  in  Brit- 
ish India.  Through  the  Turkish  consulate  in  Batavia 
Mohammedans  were  even  ordered  to  send  their  children. 
It  is,  moreover,  affirmed  that  even  princes  were  sought 


Pan-Islamism  in  Malaysia  93 

for  this  journey  to  the  Turkish  capital.  At  any  rate  the 
ordinarily  extremely  strict  censor  in  Constantinople  did 
not  silence  the  press  which  was  so  outspoken  on  this  point. 
In  1898  the  Turkish  paper  Malumat  brought  out  a  violent 
article  on  the  treatment  of  Mohammedans  by  the  Chris- 
tian people.  The  Malays  were  openly  encouraged  to  rise 
against  the  government  of  unbelievers,  for  indeed  soon  the 
crescent  would  triumph  over  heathendom  and  the  king- 
dom of  Christ.  The  paper  was  suppressed,  but  more  of 
the  same  style  of  writing  was  spread  abroad  from  Singa- 
pore. At  all  events,  this  hope  in  the  Sultan  is  calculated 
to  undermine  the  sovereignty  of  the  European  powers  over 
their  Moslem  subjects. 

III.    PAN-ISLAMISM  AND  THE  EUROPEANS 

Islam  places  itself  in  front  of  the  people  as  the  power 
which  they  can  assume  when  dealing  with  the  European. 
The  pan-Islamic  ideal  becomes  an  important  means  of 
Mohammedan  propaganda  ;  in  it  is  incorporated  the  hope 
of  the  brown  races  for  their  deliverance  from  European 
dominion.  One  can  thus  see  how  far  pan- Islamic  ideas 
have  won  an  entrance  into  the  Dutch  East  Indies  in  that 
there  also  one  clearly  perceives  the  rising  waves  of  all 
important  politico-religious  movements  in  United  Islam. 

The  power  of  the  pan-Islamic  hope  for  the  union  of  all 
the  faithful  under  one  believing  ruler  will  not  become 
weakened  on  account  of  there  being  many  Mohammedans 
in  the  Dutch  East  Indies  who  submit  to  the  Dutch  rule, 
not  from  compulsion  but  because  they  truly  recognize  the 
blessings  of  a  European  administration.  Such  are  espe- 
cially the  people  who  have  a  comfortable  position  as  gov- 
ernment officers  and  who,  moreover,  in  their  old  age  will 
receive  a  small  but  acceptable  pension.  Amongst  the 
simple  people  there  is  also  many  a  one  really  grateful  to 


94  Islam  and  Missions 

the  government  because  he  has  through  it  been  freed  from 
the  atrocious  injustice  of  his  Mohammedan  oppressors. 

But  one  does  well  to  be  cautious  about  such  reports. 
Unfortunately  many  Europeans,  and  at  times  young  of- 
ficers, allow  themselves  to  be  lulled  into  a  false  security 
through  the  Mohammedans'  great  cleverness  in  flattering 
the  colonial  government.  The  opinions  of  the  common  man 
are  not  taken  into  account.  He  who  knows  the  native, 
however  superficially,  knows  how  easily  the  people  allow 
themselves  to  be  driven  into  the  most  dangerous  revolts 
through  the  instigation  of  a  clever  Mecca  pilgrim.  Is- 
lam is  wise  enough  in  its  dealings  with  Europeans  to 
make  friendship  with  the  colonial  power  seem  a  heartfelt 
matter  with  him,  and  one  always  comes  across  classes 
who  allow  themselves  to  be  lulled  into  security  by  such 
professions. 

Thus,  for  example,  on  September  12,  1898,  on  the  oc- 
casion of  the  accession  of  the  Queen  of  Holland,  Seyd  Oth- 
man,  a  renowned  follower  of  the  prophet  in  Batavia,  recited 
a  prayer  for  the  Queen.  He  was  attacked  for  doing  so, 
but  on  February  27,  1899,  was  defended  by  the  illustrious 
Seyd  Salim  Ibn  Ahmed  of  Habban  in  Arabia. 

Salim  affirmed  Othman  had  done  nothing  wrong,  for 
he  had  only  supplicated  a  blessing  on  the  Queen  and  her 
kingdom,  and  a  blessing  for  this  world,  not  for  the  world 
to  come.  In  the  further  defense  it  was  maintained  that 
Othman  did  not  indeed  pray  for  the  victory  of  the  Queen 
over  Islam,  nor  for  the  forgiveness  of  her  sins,  nor  for 
participation  in  Paradise,  nor  for  the  deliverance  from 
hell  fire.  One  may  therefore  wish  for  the  blessings  of 
riches  and  children  for  unbelievers,  for  that  would  in 
truth  be  no  blessing,  but  a  trial  from  God.  He  appealed 
then  to  the  practice  of  Mohammedan  theologians  who 
have  declared :  "  One  should  go  to  meet  unbelievers 
respectfully,  if  fear  necessitates  it,  or  if  hope  be  present, 


Pan-Islarnism  in  Malaysia  g$ 

so  as  to  cause  the  unbeliever  through  the  knowledge  of 
Islam  to  be  friendly  to  Islam." 

Certainly  one  acquiesces  quietly  in  the  present  state  of 
things  for  one  sees  that  the  attempt  to  attain  anything 
through  insurrection  is  without  prospect  of  success. 
And  yet  the  fanatic  does  not  give  up  hope  :  indeed  that 
hope  draws  nearer  through  a  clearly  defined  medium.  It 
is  said  in  Java  that  Europeans  are  still  possessed  of 
"  Ghaib,"  i.e.j  a  peculiar  magic  power,  but  that  a  time 
is  coming  when  their  destiny  will  overtake  them.  In 
the  meanwhile  one  should  prepare  himself,  through  a 
knowledge  of  supernatural  powers,  for  the  future  course 
of  things.  For  God  has  prepared  the  magic  power  for 
His  faithful  ones.  The  teachers  of  magic  say  that  their 
pupils  receive  these  powers  in  order  to  shake  off  in  the 
future  the  government  of  the  white  people.  For  God 
will  one  day  assuredly  put  an  end  to  the  unnatural  con- 
dition of  His  people  remaining  under  the  dominion  of 
the  Kafir.  There  must,  however,  first  be  enough  magic 
power  developed  amongst  the  people. 

It  is  to  be  observed  how  eschatological  expectations 
point  to  these  magic  powers.  The  same  magic  (Ilm  ullah), 
which  protects  the  rebellious  country  from  the  conse- 
quences of  sins,  bestows  power  also  in  a  battle  against 
the  unbelievers.  Trust  in  magic  and  eschatological  fa- 
naticism urge  the  people  to  the  most  hopeless  insur- 
rections. When  the  renowned  Captain  Christoffel 
surprised  a  native  Sultan,  he  took  his  stand,  so  say  the 
people,  a  gun  in  either  hand,  and  was  absolutely  invul- 
nerable until  a  bullet  laid  him  low  !  Therefore  the 
Bugis  of  the  Celebes  gave  magic  bullets  to  the  people  of 
Onda  which  in  a  future  battle  with  the  Dutch  would 
strike  when  even  thrown  from  the  hand. 

In  the  stories  which  are  in  circulation  about  the  holy 
war  in  North  Sumatra  mention  is  made  again  and  again 


96  Islam  and  Missions 

of  these  magic  powers.  The  Achinese  on  the  north  of 
Sumatra  have  been  fighting  since  1873  with  varying  suc- 
cess against  the  Dutch.  They  have  been  fanatical  Moham- 
medans since  the  year  1300.  The  war  which  the  Indian 
Islanders  wage  against  the  Dutch  is  to  them  the  model  of 
a  holy  war.  One  does  not  know  what  actually  led  up  to 
it.  But  since  the  Achiuese  have  been  able  to  maintain  an 
opposition  for  thirty-six  years,  it  is  proved  to  the  people 
that  one  can  make  a  successful  resistance,  in  spite  of  the 
devil-guns  of  the  Christians — thus  they  call  the  repeating 
rifle — which  come  from  Satan  to  give  the  Dutch  power 
over  the  faithful  in  battle.  For  that  reason  God  has 
given  His  people  the  llm  ullah.  The  Achinese  are  invul- 
nerable, the  bullets  of  the  Dutch  cannot  pierce  them,  yet 
the  Achinese  can  catch  them  with  their  hands.  Should  a 
bullet  strike,  the  wound  will  heal  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye  ;  moreover,  the  fallen  in  battle  immediately  come  to 
life  again !  Therefore  may  the  Achinese  be  confident ;  that 
which  is  found  in  the  little  book  published  in  Battak, 
"The  Songs  of  the  Achinese,'7  will  still  come  true: 
"  There  comes  a  day  of  triumph  for  the  Achinese,  a  day 
of  revenge  when  the  Achinese  will  destroy  all  their 
enemies,  and  execute  a  great  retribution.  Salvation  and 
deliverance  will  one  day  come  to  the  land  from  the 
Achinese,  and  this  by  diligent  learning  of  magic  maxims, 
by  fencing  and  sword  dances.7' 

However  laughable  such  stories  appear,  all  who  know 
the  natives  understand  just  what  a  fanatical  power  lies  in 
this  belief  of  victory  through  magic  power.  Therefore 
from  a  colonial  point  of  view  one  should  take  more 
notice  of  this  practice  of  the  teachers  of  magic. 

The  native  with  his  burdened  heart  thinks  that  Islam 
has  something  to  offer  him  which  he  can  make  good  use  of 
in  this  present  time.  The  fact  is  that  while  the  govern- 
ment deals  indulgently  with  the  Moslem,  his  hope  in  this 


Pan-Islamism  in  Malaysia  97 

strong  magic  power  is  animating  in  him  the  belief  that 
under  the  ^Egis  of  Islam  his  most  secret  wishes  for  the 
throwing  off  of  European  power  will  one  day  be  realized. 
The  fanatic  inflames  himself  with  the  pan-Islamic  ideal. 
It  upholds  the  Moslem  in  the  consciousness  that  he  be- 
longs to  the  chosen  people  of  God.  The  Utopia  of  the 
all- Moslem  expectation  gives  fresh  nourishment  to  the 
pride  of  the  Mohammedan.  The  feeling  of  dominion  be- 
comes a  living  reality.  He  is  ordained  to  rule  and  that 
is  why  he  looks  with  pity  upon  all  unbelievers.  And  yet 
the  born  rulers  are  condemned  to  obedience  !  And  so 
fanaticism,  the  inner  fury  over  the  unnatural  state  of 
things  in  this  world  which  he  would  like  to  alter  and  yet 
cannot,  eats  ever  deeper  into  his  heart. 

Furthermore  the  pan- Islamic  movement  in  Malaysia 
leads  the  people  on  to  despise  European  culture,  for  in  the 
genuine  Moslem  view  all  that  is  worth  knowing  is  already 
contained  in  the  Koran.  But  the  study  of  the  Koran  and 
the  pure  formal  scholasticism  of  a  few  isolated  Mecca 
pilgrims  has  no  significance  for  the  people. 

So  long  as  one  sees  in  the  cultured  superiority  of  the 
Christians  a  thoroughly  anomalous  situation,  to  which 
Allah  will  certainly  make  an  end  soon,  so  long  will  one 
hold  anxiously  to  the  ritual  purity  which  enables  the  be- 
liever to  see  the  impure  in  every  European  ;  and  so  long 
as  one  believes  the  education  of  the  European  in  this  world 
to  be  a  proof  of  his  damnation  in  the  world  to  come,  so 
long  will  each  inclination  in  the  Mohammedan  towards 
cultured  progress  be  nipped  in  the  bud. 

IV.    PAN-ISLAMISM  AND  THE  EELIGIOUS  COMMUNITY 
OF  THE  CHRISTIANS 

The  real  unity  of  believing  Christians,  which  bridges 
over  race  differences,  forms  an  effective  contrast  to  the 
pan- Islamic  Utopia,  which  is  full  of  promises  for  the 


98  Islam  and  Missions 

future,  but  which  yields  nothing  tangibly  profitable  in 
the  present.  Thus  the  pan-Islamic  idea  becomes  weakened 
in  the  soul  of  the  Mohammedan.  It  loses  through  con- 
tact with  Christendom  something  of  its  impure  and  there- 
fore corrupting  magnificence.  As  opposed  to  this  widely 
spread  hope,  the  Christian  has  at  all  events  an  equivalent 
in  the  communion  of  saints.  This  exists  not  only  in  the  en- 
thusiastic consciousness  of  the  Christian,  but  it  emanates 
from  the  mission,  recognizable  by  the  Mohammedans  and 
visible  in  its  effects. 

That  the  pan-Islamic  hopes  have  no  prospect  of  realiza- 
tion becomes  more  evident  from  year  to  year.  The  Chris- 
tian European  education  which  increasingly  filters  through 
from  the  mission  schools  to  the  common  people  does  more 
and  more  to  shake  the  visionary  hopes  of  the  Moham- 
medans. The  united  band  of  humble  Christians  becomes 
year  by  year,  through  deeds  of  love,  stronger  and  more 
prominent.  The  pan-Islamic  hope  has  no  other  foundation 
than  the  ever  reiterated  glowing  descriptions  of  the  Mecca 
pilgrims.  They  have  indeed  seen  in  Mecca  the  Moslem 
unity  of  belief ;  but  in  the  Dutch  East  Indies  no  fruit  rich 
in  blessing  has  yet  ripened  for  the  Moslem.  Not  mission- 
ary work  alone,  but  also  many  government  measures 
undertaken  in  a  Christlike  spirit  remove  from  European 
rule  the  odium  of  existing  only  for  the  oppression  of  the 
inferior  races  and  link  the  duty  of  a  service  of  love  with 
the  right  to  rule  a  conquered  nation. 

Thus  the  mission  dries  up  the  pan-Islamic  movement ; 
it  shows  the  European  in  a  new  light,  it  deprives  the  pan- 
Islamic  thought  of  a  substantial  part  of  its  power  of  at- 
traction. The  hatred  against  the  conqueror  binds  the 
people  together  in  pan-Islamism  ;  the  love  enjoined  by  the 
European  mission  weakens  this  bond  and  fastens  by  new 
threads  the  soul  of  this  primitive  people  to  its  place 
under  the  foreign  conqueror. 


Pan-Islamism  in  Malaysia  99 

Pan-Islamism  is  one  of  those  currents  of  spiritual  feel- 
ing in  the  hearts  of  these  Mohammedan  peoples  which 
must  be  diverted  into  another  channel  if  ever  Christianity 
is  to  find  there  full  entrance. 


VII 

POLITICAL  CHANGES  IN  TUEKEY 

PROF.  J.  STEWART  CRAWFORD,  BEIRUT 

THE  proclamation  of  the  Turkish  Constitution  in 
1908  roused  the  Mohammedan  portion  of  the 
empire  to  a  new  activity.  Political  and  social 
influences,  of  which  the  Moslem  masses  had  previously 
had  but  a  dim  conception,  were  now,  with  a  startling 
emphasis,  forced  on  the  attention  of  Islam.  With  the 
introduction  of  the  constitutional  regime,  the  theocratic 
conception  of  the  state  had  been,  in  effect,  completely  set 
aside.  The  nation  was  now  asked  to  live  its  political  life 
on  a  separate  plane  from  that  of  the  Mohammedan  faith. 
Mass  meetings  were  held  in  all  the  cities  of  the  empire,  at 
which  orators  vied  with  one  another  in  expounding  the 
new  conception  of  nationalism.  They  laboured  to  prove 
that  the  life  of  the  nation  as  a  whole  was  a  public  affair 
that  did  not  directly  involve  religious  issues.  These 
speakers  announced,  as  though  it  was  a  great  discovery, 
that  the  tests  of  loyal  citizenship  were  purely  civil  and 
moral,  and  that  in  relation  to  the  government  the  forms 
of  a  man's  religious  belief  gave  him  no  title  to  special 
privileges.  Astonishing  and  ingenious  arguments  were 
brought  forth  from  the  teaching  of  their  prophet,  in  the 
Koran  and  the  Tradition,  to  show  that  these  new  political 
principles  were  not  foreign  to  Islam,  but  were  in  accord 
with  the  purpose  of  its  founder.  These  mass  meetings 
were  addressed  by  men  of  the  new  school,  or  at  any  rate, 
by  those  who  professed  to  belong  to  the  new  school. 
The  zealous  leaders  of  ecclesiastical  life — the  Ulema,  who 

100 


Political  Changes  in  Turkey  101 

were  devoted  to  theological  study  and  to  the  principle  of 
religious  prestige — displayed  only  a  passive  sympathy  with 
the  new  movement.  An  undercurrent  of  deep  hostility 
was  even  then  drawing  the  more  active  spirits  of  this 
class  into  a  conspiracy  of  opposition.  Nevertheless,  for 
many  months,  no  one  publicly  questioned  the  correctness 
of  the  new  theory  of  nationalism. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  people  in  most  sections 
of  the  empire,  for  years  previously,  had  been  undergoing 
a  process  of  education  in  modern  political  ideals.  Al- 
though during  the  reign  of  Abd  ul  Hamid  the  newspapers 
had  been  compelled  to  avoid  all  revolutionary  topics,  or 
even  mention  of  revolutionary  events  in  other  countries, 
nevertheless  the  news  of  the  world  was  reported  to  the 
nation  sooner  or  later,  even  though  some  parts  of  it  were 
of  necessity  stated  in  guarded  form.  In  particular,  the 
awakening  of  Japan  had  been  fully  discussed  by  all 
classes  alike.  For  the  first  time  in  history  a  Moslem 
people  were  stirred  to  a  deep  admiration  for  a  heathen 
nation.  The  success  of  Japan  restored  faith  in  the  power 
of  an  Oriental  people  to  achieve  as  great  results  as  could 
any  Occidental  nation.  Of  still  greater  significance  was 
the  fact  that  Japan  had  adopted  Western  science,  Western 
organization,  Western  political  standards,  and  a  portion 
of  what  might  be  called  Western  social  ideals,  without  of- 
ficially accepting  Western  religion.  In  this  significant 
omission  lay  the  chief  attraction  for  the  Moslem  mind  in 
the  story  of  Japan.  The  superficial  fact  that  Eussia,  the 
ancient  rival  of  Ottoman  ambition,  had  been  humiliated, 
only  partially  explained  the  enthusiastic  interest  of  Mo- 
hammedan Turkey  in  Japanese  successes.  The  full  ex- 
planation lay  rather  in  the  fact  that  the  story  of  Japan 
seemed  to  demonstrate  the  possibility  of  the  assimilation, 
by  an  Oriental  people,  of  Western  forces  and  institutions 
without  any  apparent  disloyalty  to  their  former  faith. 


102  Islam  and  Missions 

Thousands  of  young  Moslem  reformers  took  their  cue 
from  this  feature  of  Japanese  experience  ;  viz.,  their  ac- 
chievement  of  scientific,  industrial,  and  social  progress 
without  a  national  change  of  religion.  Henceforth,  with- 
out hesitation,  they  could  urge  any  degree  of  reform — and 
reform  according  to  Western  standards — without  the  im- 
plication of  disloyalty  to  Islam.  This  was  one  phase  of 
the  education  of  the  nation  previous  to  the  proclamation 
of  the  Constitution. 

Another  equally  important  phase  of  the  social  educa- 
tion of  the  Ottoman  world  has  resulted  from  the  intro- 
duction, near  the  beginning  of  the  Hamidian  regime,  of 
the  Kanuni  Humayun,  or  the  system  of  law  and  the  ma- 
chinery of  courts  and  legal  administration  based  on  the 
Code  Napoleon.  This  new  code  of  law  had  been  pre- 
pared, about  1876,  by  the  Midhat  Pasha  school  of  re- 
formers, in  conjunction  with  the  Constitution  and  the 
representative  system  of  government  which  they  had  de- 
vised. The  Constitution  and  the  Parliament  Abd  ul 
Hamid  soon  suspended  by  an  arbitrary  exercise  of  auto- 
cratic will.  By  an  equally  arbitrary  decision,  he  set  in 
operation  the  principles  and  the  machinery  of  the  Kanun 
or  Code  Napoleon.  Thus  there  had  been  established  by 
imperial  fiat  a  system  of  law  other  than  the  Sheriat  or 
the  sacred  law  of  Islam.  Both  systems  of  law  were 
henceforth  to  serve  as  parallel  codes  ostensibly  on  a  par 
with  each  other,  each  to  serve  certain  functions  of  indi- 
vidual and  national  life.  In  general  men  were  left  free 
to  bring  their  lawsuits  before  the  courts  of  either  system 
as  they  preferred.  Eeligious  questions  growing  out  of 
the  life  of  Mohammedan  citizens,  such  as  inheritance, 
marriage,  or  divorce,  were  automatically  referred  to  the 
Sheriat  courts  for  decision.  Cases  not  directly  religious, 
or  those  in  which  other  than  Moslem  interests  were  in- 
volved, all  came  before  the  Kanun  system  of  courts,  and 


Political  Changes  in  Turkey  103 

at  least  in  theory  were  decided  according  to  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Code  Napoleon. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  fathom  the  motives  of  that  astute 
autocrat  in  thus  establishing,  for  the  leading  Moham- 
medan nation,  a  new  code  of  law  entirely  alien  to  the 
sacred  Sheriat.  The  Code  Napoleon  was  a  much  more 
workable  system  and  much  better  adapted  to  the  stand- 
ards of  an  advancing  civilization  than  was  the  ancient 
Sheriat  with  its  primitive,  Semitic  regulations.  But,  what 
doubtless  weighed  still  more  in  the  tyrant's  mind,  was  the 
fact  that  the  new  code  recognized  no  privileged  religious 
class  and  left  no  power  in  the  hands  of  the  ecclesiastical 
organization  as  such.  Abd  ul  Hamid,  in  the  absolute 
personal  rule  which  he  exercised  so  successfully  for  over 
a  quarter  of  a  century,  could  brook  no  rival.  No  power 
but  his  own  must  be  recognized  in  the  nation,  not  even 
that  of  the  official  religious  leaders.  It  is  hardly  con- 
ceivable that  Abd  ul  Hamid  intended  to  weaken  the  power 
of  Islam,  or  that  he  had  planned  to  undermine  any  of  its 
fundamental  principles.  Nevertheless  the  establishment 
of  the  civil  code  of  law  probably  did  more  than  all  other 
forces  combined  to  weaken  the  theocratic  principle  which 
is  so  essential  to  a  Moslem  state.  Ecclesiastical  leaders 
chafed  with  the  utmost  impatience  under  the  insult  thus 
dealt  to  the  sacred  Sheriat,  but  the  hand  of  the  autocrat 
was  heavy  on  all  who  ventured  to  give  public  expression 
to  their  rebellious  attitude.  Had  the  career  of  Abd  ul 
Hamid  been  cut  short  soon  after  the  institution  of  the 
hated  irreligious  code  the  nation  would  have  sprung  back 
with  great  reactionary  force  to  the  holy  law  of  their  faith, 
to  the  exclusion  of  every  other  legal  system.  But  the 
experience  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  of  life  under  a  much 
more  enlightened  and  practical  code  proved  to  be  a  form 
of  political  education  which  weakened  the  fanatical  devo- 
tion of  the  masses  to  the  Sheriat.  All  unconsciously 


104  Islam  and  Missions 

Abd  ul  Hamid  had  prepared  the  field  of  national  senti- 
ment to  receive  favourably  the  political  gospel  of  the  new 
nationalism. 

Yet  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  devotion  of  the 
masses  to  Islam,  as  a  religion,  had  been  consciously 
weakened.  They  had  ceased  merely  to  feel  acutely  the 
contradiction  between  a  Western  legal  code  and  the  Mo- 
hammedan system  of  thought.  That  such  a  contradiction 
existed,  and  that  this  contradiction  was  fundamental, 
many  of  the  educated  leaders  of  the  Young  Turk  move- 
ment were  well  aware.  They  knew  also  that  this  contra- 
diction would  be  greatly  intensified  by  many  of  the  new 
measures  they  proposed  to  enforce.  They  accordingly 
employed  all  the  tactics  of  a  most  anxious  diplomacy  to 
conceal  from  the  masses  the  full  significance  of  many  of 
the  measures  proposed  by  the  new  government.  We  may 
take  as  an  example  such  a  change  as  the  enrollment  of  a 
large  non-Moslem  element  in  the  army.  This  change 
severed  the  army  effectually  from  all  relation  to  religious 
propaganda.  It  made  the  conception  of  a  holy  war 
henceforth  forever  impossible.  Militant  Islam  is  thus 
confronted  with  the  necessity  of  employing  new  and 
moral,  or  at  least  social,  instrumentalities  for  the  main- 
tenance of  its  dominant  position  in  the  nation.  The 
Young  Turk  measures  met  with  the  bitterest  opposition 
from  that  portion  of  the  religious  leaders,  who  had  the 
insight  to  appreciate  the  far-reaching  changes  which  the 
new  tendencies  would  inevitably  bring  on  Islam.  Ec- 
clesiastical orthodoxy  had  already,  under  Abd  ul  Hamid, 
been  compelled  to  bear  in  silence  a  most  damaging  blow 
to  its  influence.  For  the  ill-used  representatives  of  ortho- 
doxy, the  political  freedom  proclaimed  by  the  new  re"- 
gime  suggested  liberty  to  inaugurate  a  campaign  for  the 
restoration  of  the  long  dethroned  Sheriat.  All  over  the 
empire  there  were  devout  Moslems  who  naturally  asked 


Political  Changes  in  Turkey  105 

each  other,  '  *  What  is  to  be  the  position  of  the  Sheriat 
under  the  new  Constitution!  "  No  public  agitation  of 
this  question  was  possible  during  the  first  few  months, 
when  all  classes  vied  with  one  another  in  declarations  of 
loyalty  to  the  new  order.  But  a  private  form  of  agita- 
tion, which  rapidly  spread,  soon  revealed  itself  to  close 
observers.  It  even  found  encouragement  from  men  who 
once  would  have  stamped  out  such  a  movement.  The 
reactionary  party,  who  represented  the  old  regime,  were 
quick  to  take  advantage  of  the  critical  spirit  fostered  by 
the  agitation  in  regard  to  the  Sheriat.  It  was  not  long 
before  that  arch-intriguer,  Abd  ul  Hamid,  became  aware 
of  the  strong  undercurrent  of  ecclesiastical  dissatisfaction 
with  the  non-Islamic  tendencies  of  the  new  regime.  He 
soon  began  to  plot  for  the  overthrow  of  the  constitutional 
party  by  means  of  an  alliance  with  the  religious  agi- 
tators. In  some  respects  he  thus  reversed  the  policy  of 
his  early  reign.  The  very  leaders  whose  power  he  had 
broken,  and  the  sacred  ambitions  which  he  had  once  ty- 
rannically suppressed,  he  now  identified  himself  with  most 
zealously,  since  he  saw  in  them  the  only  power  which 
could  wreck  the  Constitution.  The  counter  revolution 
which  occurred  in  1909  took  for  its  watchword  "  Honour 
to  the  Sheriat."  So  deep  a  hold  had  this  issue  taken  on 
the  ignorant  masses,  by  this  time,  that  the  constitutional 
party  would  have  been  hopelessly  outnumbered  and  de- 
feated, had  their  enemies  at  this  juncture  only  found  able 
leaders  to  organize  the  forces  of  reaction.  But  the  men 
of  aggressive  force  and  intelligent  enthusiasm,  the  only 
men  capable  of  constructive  patriotic  effort,  were  all  with 
the  party  of  progress.  The  hands  on  the  clock  of  Turkish 
history  were  not  to  be  set  back.  Constantinople  was  reoc- 
cupied  by  a  series  of  brilliant  maneuvres,  and  the  hold  of 
the  Young  Turk  Party  on  the  government  of  the  nation 
was  rendered  far  stronger  than  before. 


106  Islam  and  Missions 

What,  it  may  be  asked,  has  been  the  net  moral  result 
of  all  the  marvellous  political  changes  of  the  past  two 
years  ?  The  situation  is  complex,  and  different  estimates 
of  the  forces  at  work  will  be  made  by  different  observers. 
Yet  certain  facts  stand  out  clearly.  It  is  evident  that  the 
national  spirit  of  all  classes  of  the  population  has  been 
quickened  as  it  had  not  been  before  for  centuries.  Even 
the  Christian  subjects  of  the  Ottoman  Empire  have  been 
fired  with  a  certain  patriotic  fervour.  For  the  first  time 
in  generations,  non- Moslem  citizens  have  ceased  to  look 
to  foreign  powers  for  their  political  salvation.  In  spite 
of  many  untoward  incidents  there  has  been  a  great  draw- 
ing together  of  the  Moslem  and  Christian  populations. 
For  the  educated  portion,  at  least,  the  old  religious  gulf 
of  separation  has  been  partially  bridged  over.  In  conse- 
quence a  new  fund  of  common  national  ideals  is  being 
gradually  accumulated. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  has  been  a  marked  revival  of 
Mohammedan  religious  fervour.  The  energies  of  the 
masses  have  been  profoundly  stirred.  Their  whole  na- 
ture is  in  a  state  of  unprecedented  activity.  When  men 
are  thus  roused,  their  religious  convictions  inevitably 
operate  with  new  force.  Under  present  conditions  the 
conscience  of  the  majority,  however  enlightened,  can  be 
no  other  than  a  Moslem  conscience.  The  Constitution 
formally  recognizes  the  religion  of  the  state  as  the  relig- 
ion of  Islam.  It  would  be  a  psychological  and  moral 
miracle  if  they  did  not  seek  to  make  their  new  political 
and  social  advance  contribute  to  the  upbuilding  of  Islam. 
For  political  reasons,  the  Young  Turk  leaders  find  it 
highly  expedient  to  favour  such  a  movement,  though 
they  have  no  intention  of  strengthening  the  hold  of  the 
ecclesiastical  party  as  such.  However  divided  among 
themselves  the  different  political  parties  may  be,  all  have 
united  in  a  determination  to  protect  Islam  from  the  in- 


Political  Changes  in  Turkey  107 

roads  of  foreign  and  non- Mohammedan  religious  influ- 
ences. 

The  anti-foreign  attitude  that  has  arisen  with  the 
awakening  of  a  new  national  consciousness  is  not  confined 
to  Moslems.  To  a  considerable  extent  this  anti-foreign 
feeling  is  shared  even  by  Ottoman  Christians.  Many  of 
the  Moslem  leaders  and  writers  have  sought  to  convince 
their  Christian  fellow  citizens  that  the  new  revival  in 
Islam  is  not  inimical  to  the  progress  or  the  rights  of  na- 
tive Christians.  The  ideal  put  forward  is  that  the  two 
religious  communities  should  go  forward  hand  in  hand, 
each  making  the  most  of  the  new  opportunity  to  develop 
its  best  qualities.  It  is  not  without  significance  that  this 
theory  of  national  brotherhood,  as  between  Moslem  and 
Christian,  has  become  the  familiar  theme  of  Ottoman 
speakers  and  writers.  Should  this  ideal  ever  be  taken 
seriously  by  the  masses,  it  would  produce  a  patriotic 
spirit  worthy  of  a  Western  Japan.  However  little  we 
may  welcome  this  revival  of  Moslem  zeal,  it  must,  in 
justice,  be  acknowledged  that  its  leaders  have  set  forth, 
in  the  public  press  and  on  hundreds  of  platforms,  con- 
ceptions of  duty  and  of  character  never  hitherto  made 
prominent  in  Moslem  activities. 

In  brief  we  might  sum  up  the  situation  thus.  The  Otto- 
man people  have  been  put  in  possession  of  many  of  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  modern  citizenship.  All  classes 
have  been  thrilled  with  a  sense  of  the  opportunity  thus 
provided  for  a  career  of  national  independence  and  prog- 
ress. Some  conception  of  the  democratic  responsibility 
involved  in  the  possession  of  free  institutions  is  slowly 
dawning  on  the  consciousness  of  the  Mohammedan  ma- 
jority. Hundreds  of  their  leaders  are  seeking,  more  or 
less  sincerely,  to  serve  the  best  interests  of  the  nation  as 
interpreted  by  such  moral  judgment  as  intelligent  Mos- 
lems have  attained.  For  the  first  time  the  honour  of 


io8  Islam  and  Missions 

Islam  has  been  entrusted  to  the  working  of  democratic 
institutions.  The  result  is  a  strange  medley  of  forces, 
progressive  and  retrograde.  In  all  this  medley  the  out- 
standing fact  is  that  the  national  conscience  has  been 
awakened  as  never  before.  Though  awakened,  it  is  only 
partially  enlightened.  Nevertheless,  this  new  activity 
of  the  Ottoman  conscience  is  proof  of  a  wide-spread  social 
response  to  the  appeal  of  principles  and  institutions  with 
which  the  world  of  Islam  has  only  recently  been  made 
acquainted. 

Our  review  of  the  changes  in  the  Ottoman  Empire 
would  have  little  value  for  a  missionary  conference  did  it 
not  lead  to  the  question,  "  What  shall  be  the  attitude  of 
Christian  missions  towards  the  new  forces  within  Islam  t " 
The  new  situation  which  we  have  endeavoured  to  present 
has  in  it,  on  the  one  hand,  much  that  will  arouse  the 
respect  of  the  missionary.  On  the  other  hand,  it  calls  for 
the  exercise  of  unwearied  patience.  The  respect  of  whole- 
hearted sympathy  with  men  who  are  aroused,  the  patience 
of  faith  in  the  educative  work  of  God — these  are  the 
special  qualities  of  character  needed  by  the  Christian 
missionary  as  he  confronts  the  new  Islam. 

The  first  duty  to  be  emphasized  is  that  of  respect  for  the 
awakening  of  energy  that  has  taken  place.  The  Ottoman 
people  are  thinking — thinking  earnestly  upon  the  prob- 
lems of  their  national  and  social  life.  They  have  been 
brought  under  the  influence  of  the  educational,  social  and 
political  development  of  Western  nations  until  they  have 
begun  to  feel  the  call  of  the  modern  spirit.  Though  they 
find  it  difficult  to  shake  off  the  lethargy  of  centuries,  and 
though  they  are  sadly  hampered  by  the  unprogressive 
nature  of  orthodox  Islam,  yet  there  is  evidence  on  every 
hand  that  new  and  vital  forces  have  been  absorbed  into 
the  national  consciousness.  Awakened  energies  such  as 
these  should  be  met  by  the  Christian  world-movement 


Political  Changes  in  Turkey  109 

with  a  profound  sympathy.  The  new  situation  affords  an 
opportunity  to  correct  the  false  interpretation  of  the  atti- 
tude of  Christendom  towards  Islam  which  was  rendered 
inevitable  by  the  crusades.  Mohammedan  sentiment  has 
never  recovered  from  the  hostile  impressions  that  were 
then  created.  The  Moslem  masses  have  never  been  able 
to  conceive  of  Christian  missions  as  other  than  a  hostile 
move  against  their  religious  organization,  their  social 
principles,  and  their  political  aspirations.  They  acknowl- 
edge the  great  benefits  that  have  come  to  them  through 
missionary  activity ;  they  even  commend  evangelical 
Christianity  as  a  form  of  religious  experience  with  which 
they  have  much  in  common  ;  but  they  have  never  ques- 
tioned for  a  moment  that  the  purpose  of  Christian  mis- 
sions was  to  undermine  the  social  organization  as  well  as 
the  principles  of  Islam,  and  substitute  for  them  a  Chris- 
tian system  and  a  Christian  community.  This  purpose 
they  have  regarded  as,  in  its  deepest  nature,  a  hostile  one 
— hostile  to  their  people,  hostile  to  their  genius,  hostile  to 
their  traditions  and  to  their  ideals.  While  this  Moslem 
view  of  missions  contains  large  elements  of  truth,  it  fails 
utterly  to  do  justice  to  the  moving  spirit  of  the  Christian 
missionary.  No  belief  that  has  won  the  spiritual  alle- 
giance and  fed  the  spiritual  nature  of  millions  of  our  fellow 
men  should  ever  be  approached  in  a  hostile  spirit  by  the 
heralds  of  the  Gospel.  An  attitude  of  spiritual  sympathy 
and  insight  is,  more  and  more,  finding  expression  in  all 
forms  of  mission  work.  And  yet  it  must  be  confessed  that 
we  have  failed  generally  to  convey  this  impression  to  the 
Mohammedan  world.  Moslems  may  respect  our  motives, 
they  may  even  admire  our  zeal,  but  they  are  pledged  to 
resist,  as  they  would  the  march  of  a  crusading  host,  every 
advance  of  Christian  thought  within  their  social  ranks. 
Wherein  have  we  failed  to  interpret  aright  to  the  Moslem 
world  the  spirit  of  our  Master  ?  Whatever  may  be  the 


lio  Islam  and  Missions 

explanation  of  that  failure  in  the  past,  the  Christian 
Church  is  now  confronted  by  an  unprecedented  oppor- 
tunity to  place  a  new  and  higher  interpretation  on  its  mis- 
sionary zeal.  We  come  to  Moslems  as  brothers.  We 
proclaim  a  gospel  of  fellowship  in  every  forward  tend- 
ency. We  tell  them  of  great  blessings  that  the  Gospel 
has  brought  into  our  life.  We  point — somewhat  shame- 
facedly it  may  be  at  the  delay — to  its  slowly  increasing 
influence  on  social  and  national  activities  in  the  West. 
We  acknowledge  that  we  are  only  partially  loyal  to  its 
principles,  but  we  place  the  Gospel  before  them  for  their 
consideration  as  the  most  satisfying  and  the  most  com- 
manding revelation  of  the  divine  purpose  for  man — a 
revelation  that  the  East  has  given  to  the  West — a  revela- 
tion that  was  the  product  of  spiritual  experience  enjoyed 
by  men  of  the  Semitic  race.  We  appeal  to  them  to  enter 
into  their  own  natural  heritage,  to  make  ever-increasing 
application  of  its  principles  to  their  own  individual,  social 
and  national  activities,  interpreting  it  for  themselves  in 
forms  that  shall  be  true  to  their  native  genius.  This  mis- 
sionary attitude  is  nothing  new,  but  the  opportunity  for  its 
expression  is  new.  The  situation  is  unprecedented  in  the 
history  of  missions.  Here  is  a  great  Moslem  people  most 
eager  to  assimilate  new  forces,  and  to  show  itself  capable 
of  developing  new  institutions  similar  to  those  which  are 
the  glory  of  Christianity.  A  moral  crisis  in  the  relations 
of  the  two  religions  has  thus  been  created.  Never  before 
has  Islam  been  in  such  a  position  to  appreciate  the  Chris- 
tian message  of  a  divine  renewing  energy,  upbuilding 
character  and  moulding  every  human  institution.  The 
Gospel  for  the  healing  of  the  nations  will  now  assuredly 
find  its  supreme  opportunity.  Can  the  agents  of  that 
Gospel  adjust  themselves  to  the  changed  conditions  ?  Let 
us  approach  the  Moslem  world  with  a  faith  in  their  moral 
purpose,  with  an  avowed  respect  for  their  new  endeavour. 


Political  Changes  in  Turkey  1 1 1 

Let  us  appeal  to  them,  with  a  certain  brotherly  humility, 
to  recognize  at  its  full  worth  the  Gospel  of  a  Saviour  who 
opens  the  way  to  forgiveness  and  leads  to  the  living 
Father,  whose  joy  is  the  upbuilding  of  individual  and 
national  character,  whether  in  the  East  or  in  the  West. 

This  principle  of  respect  for  the  personality  of  others, 
and  for  their  personal  development  in  the  past,  must  be 
consulted  by  the  missionary  of  to-day  as  it  never  has  been 
before.  The  Golden  Eule  has  its  application  as  between 
social  systems  and  even  as  between  rival  religions.  The 
full  significance  of  the  Christlike  policy  of  winning,  by 
consent,  the  allegiance  of  entire  peoples  and  races  has 
scarcely  been  grasped  as  yet  by  the  missionary  agencies 
of  the  Church.  It  is  not  a  time  for  attack  upon  convic- 
tions, or  even  prejudices.  That  form  of  missionary 
strategy  will  work  endless  harm  in  a  situation  like  that  of 
to-day  in  the  Ottoman  Empire.  Every  form  of  activity 
that  suggests  a  hostile  attitude  or  purpose  is  to  be  avoided 
as  we  would  the  use  of  the  sword.  In  private  conversa- 
tion, where  men  come  to  the  missionary  for  light,  he  may 
point  out  profitably  the  moral  crudities  and  errors  of  their 
past.  But  such  a  line  of  argument  is  now  utterly  out  of 
place  in  the  missionary  press  or  on  the  missionary  plat- 
form. The  call  of  the  Spirit  is  to  present  the  positive 
principles  of  the  Gospel  so  much  needed  by  the  world  of 
Islam.  Let  us  set  our  faces  as  flint  against  the  all  too 
easy  method  of  denunciation  and  of  exposure  and  of 
destructive  criticism.  To  perpetuate  for  another  millen- 
nium the  crusading  interpretation  of  the  Christian  world- 
movement  would  be  the  deepest  treachery  to  the  cause  of 
the  conquering  Christ.  His  promise  of  power  was  to  at- 
tend His  disciples'  personal  witness  for  Him.  To  set 
forth  His  principles,  His  relationship  to  the  Father,  His 
attitude  towards  men,  the  renewing  power  of  fellowship 
with  Him  in  His  life  and  death,  the  inspiration  of  loyalty 


112  Islam  and  Missions 

to  His  ideals — such  personal  witness  He  has  pledged  His 
word  to  bless.  Any  other  type  of  message  can  claim  no 
promise  of  convincing  power  to  be  conferred  by  the  Spirit 
of  the  Father.  Denunciation  had  its  place  in  the  preach- 
ing of  our  Saviour.  But  it  is  most  instructive  to  note  His 
use  of  that  weapon.  Perchance  He  would  employ  it 
again,  were  He  to  appear  in  the  flesh  to-day.  He  could 
find  no  words  too  scathing  to  set  forth  the  Pharisaism  of 
so-called  Christian  nations.  But  would  He  not  deal,  in 
the  spirit  of  profound  and  tender  sympathy,  with  the 
newly  awakened  national  consciousness  of  non- Christian 
Asiatic  peoples  ?  The  disciples  of  Jesus  seek  the  con- 
quest, not  of  systems  or  beliefs,  but  of  consciences  and  of 
hearts.  In  such  a  spiritual  campaign,  striking  success 
can  never  be  achieved  where  the  impression  of  hostility 
is  created,  or  even  permitted  to  abide  as  a  heritage  of 
the  past. 

We  have  said  that  the  first  requisite  for  a  tactful  mis- 
sionary approach  to  the  Islam  of  to-day  was  respect — a 
sincere  respect  for  awakened  energies — a  respect  that  will 
tend  to  friendly  relations  hitherto  unknown.  The  second 
great  requisite  we  would  urge  is  patience— the  patience  of 
men  who  have  learned  the  gospel  parable  of  growth — 
first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  then  the  long  waiting  for  the 
full  corn  in  the  ear.  Moral  growth  is  slow,  where  the 
growth  is  that  of  a  nation.  Our  Old  Testament  records  a 
moral  process  extending  well  nigh  through  a  score  of 
centuries.  Christian  history  is  the  record  of  another  two 
thousand  years  of  moral  struggle,  often  disheartening  in 
its  failures.  Nevertheless  the  kingdom  of  God  has  been 
marching  forward  through  the  centuries.  Influences  that 
are  the  product  of  that  kingdom  have  now  penetrated 
Islam.  Shall  we  be  surprised  or  disheartened  because 
history  repeats  itself !  The  ignorance  and  the  folly  and 
the  crude  experiments  of  Christian  development  in  the 


Political  Changes  in  Turkey  113 

past  may  reappear  even  in  an  awakened  Islam.  Moham- 
medan leaders,  as  a  class,  are  blind  to  the  best  in  our 
civilization,  although  they  are  working  for  a  union  of 
Mohammedan  forces  with  modern  institutions.  Moreover 
they  are  impatient  of  all  that  savours  of  disloyalty  to  the 
sacred  convictions  of  their  past.  Shall  we  then  be  angry 
with  them  ?  Can  we  even  be  surprised  at  their  attitude 
of  self-defense  I  Should  we  despise  what  seem  to  us  their 
misguided  efforts  1  Are  they  not  obeying  the  law  of 
group  consciousness  ?  The  development  of  individual  life 
does  not  always  provide  the  model  for  that  of  group  life. 
Individuals  undergoing  a  conversion  of  their  life-forces 
may  be  lifted,  at  once,  onto  a  wholly  new  level  of  ex- 
perience. Communities  and  peoples  never  make  such  a 
dramatic  break  with  their  past.  Individual  conversions 
are  precious  reward  for  our  labours,  but  there  is  an  even 
larger  sphere  of  missionary  endeavour.  By  the  gradual 
moulding  of  a  higher  type  of  group  consciousness,  the 
gospel  leaven  is  brought  into  vital  contact  with  great 
social  masses,  who  as  individuals  might  never  be  touched. 
A  vast  Mohammedan  community  is  making  the  experi- 
ment of  incorporating  into  its  own  social  development 
many  features  of  a  Christian  civilization.  Can  we  doubt 
that  God  is  moving  in  this  way  to  bring  His  kingdom 
into  closer  relations  with  the  Moslem  world?  No  dra- 
matic break  with  past  ambitions,  or  even  past  prejudices, 
has  taken  place.  Nevertheless  Islam  as  a  whole  is  mov- 
ing into  new  regions  of  thought.  Can  we  wait  for  the 
laws  of  character  growth  to  take  effect  on  a  national 
scale  ?  Co-workers  with  God  may  be  known  by  their  in- 
finite capacity  for  patience.  The  winning  force  in  the 
world  is  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  There  is  a  victorious  tone 
that  goes  with  faith  in  the  fact.  A  great  deal  of  our 
criticism  of  the  moral  crudities  that  accompany  the  for- 
ward movement  in  Islam  is  inconsistent  with  the  patience 


1 14  Islam  and  Missions 

of  missionary  faith.  Let  us  take  the  tone  of  victory  in 
every  statement  we  make  regarding  even  what  are  the 
disappointing  features  of  Moslem  development. 

Some  writers  on  Christian  ethics  have  sought  to  prove 
that  the  very  truth  of  Christianity  rendered  it  of  neces- 
sity the  most  intolerant  of  religions.  They  have  pointed 
out  the.  uncompromising  nature  of  the  struggle  between 
Apostolic  Christianity  and  the  heathen  faiths  of  the  Eo- 
man  world.  For  the  follower  of  Christ  there  could  be  no 
question  of  compromise  between  the  true  and  the  false ; 
there  was  no  middle  ground ;  either  a  man  was  a  believer 
or  an  unbeliever  ;  there  was  no  fellowship  between  light 
and  darkness.  To  die  was  better  than  to  admit  the  least 
degree  of  divine  efficacy  in  heathen  deities  or  ceremonies. 
This  theory  of  Christian  intolerance  of  the  false  comes  so 
near  to  expressing  the  Christian  position  that  it  has  par- 
tially misled  hosts  of  noble  witnesses  to  gospel  truth.  As 
an  abstract  statement,  it  is  incontestable  that  truth  is  in- 
tolerant of  falsehood.  But  the  spirit  of  Christianity  can- 
not be  set  forth  in  abstract  propositions.  The  Gospel  de- 
mands first  of  all  that  human  nature  shall  be  awakened, 
that  it  shall  enter  actively  into  right  relations  with  all 
life,  from  the  highest  life— the  perfect  life  of  the  Father 
— to  the  poorest  life,  it  may  be  that  of  our  humblest 
neighbour.  Whole-hearted  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  places 
a  man  in  right  relation  to  God,  to  himself,  to  his  fellow 
men.  Wherever  men's  nature  is  stirred  to  seek  better 
things  ;  to  create  social  or  national  ideals  j  to  enter  upon 
a  new  career  of  moral  self-expression — in  such  an  aim, 
the  Christian  faith  acknowledges  a  kinship  with  itself. 
In  degenerate  Borne  there  was  but  slight  basis  for  any 
such  kinship  of  spirit.  Public  life  was  in  the  chains  of 
a  system  which  produced  moral  death.  All  the  spiritual 
force  of  primitive  Christianity  was  poured  forth  in  pro- 
test against  the  moral  death  represented  by  the  corrupt 


Political  Changes  in  Turkey  115 

social  and  religious  system  of  Eome.  Far  different 
should  be  our  relations  with  the  nations  of  the  East 
whose  social  and  moral  energies  have  been  called  into  un- 
precedented activity  by  their  contact  with  Western 
achievement ;  an  achievement  whose  inmost  character  is 
being  increasingly  influenced  by  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  In 
such  a  missionary  situation,  the  least  suggestion  of  in- 
tolerance would  be  treachery  to  the  work  of  the  Divine 
Spirit  as  He  takes  the  things  of  Christ,  in  the  form  of 
Christian  social  ideals,  and  shows  them  to  the  men  of  the 
Orient.  Let  us  have  faith  in  the  missionary  activity  of 
God's  Spirit  beyond  the  bounds  of  Christendom.  There 
is  an  unconscious  preparation  of  the  nations  for  Christ 
whenever  they  accept  aims  and  ideals  that  have  points  of 
contact  with  His  Gospel.  From  the  ideals  and  principles 
of  Christ,  men's  eyes  will  certainly  be  lifted  to  the  person 
of  Christ,  and  to  know  Him  in  personal  relationship  is 
Eternal  Life.  The  changes  that  are  taking  place  within 
Islam  are  bringing  men  of  that  faith,  in  large  groups, 
within  the  social  influence  of  the  kingdom.  They  may 
be  unconscious  of  their  approach  to  Christ,  but  may  it 
not  be  our  privilege,  by  the  right  missionary  attitude 
towards  these  changes  within  Islam,  to  awaken  in  Mos- 
lems the  consciousness  of  their  newly  attained  kinship 
with  us  and  with  the  Saviour  whom  we  serve  t 


vm 

POLITICAL  CHANGES  IN  AEABIA 
REV.  J.  C.  YOUNG,  M.  D.,  ADEN,  ARABIA 

IN  order  to  fully  understand  the  political  changes 
in  Arabia  and  to  fully  grasp  their  significance  in  the 
mission  fields  there,  one  must  be  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  the  state  of  affairs  prior  to  the  year  A.  D. 
1908,  when  the  Turkish  revolution  took  place  and  a  new 
Constitution  was  given  to  the  people. 

When  Selim  I,  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  conquered 
Egypt  and  overthrew  the  Mamelukes  he  not  only  re- 
ceived the  keys  of  Mecca  and  Medina  from  the  Meccan 
Sherif,  but  he  also  got  the  then  Caliph  of  Egypt,  Mo- 
hammed XII,  to  make  over  to  him  the  right  and  the  title 
to  the  caliphate,  and  as  the  large  majority  of  the  ortho- 
dox believers  in  Islam  at  once  accepted  his  lordship  he 
came  to  be  looked  upon  as  the  Imam  ul  Muslimin  or 
earthly  head  of  the  Moslem  world  who  had  absolute 
power  over  all  true  believers  in  the  Islamic  creed. 

To  his  authority,  however,  the  Arabs  of  the  Yemen 
never  gave  ready  obedience ;  as  they  believed  that  since 
Mohammed  was  an  Arab  and  Islam  was  generated  in 
Arabia  therefore  the  Imam  ul  Muslimin  ought  to  be  an 
Arab  too,  and  speak  the  same  pure  language  that  Mo- 
hammed used  in  promulgating  his  message  to  the  world. 
None  other,  they  hold,  than  an  Arab  can  be  Heaven's 
vice-gerent  to  the  children  of  men  and  that  is  why  Turk- 
ish authority  has  never  been  able  to  establish  itself  in  the 
Yemen  in  the  same  strong  way  and  on  the  same  firm 
basis  that  it  has  in  Syria  and  in  the  Hejaz. 

116 


Political  Changes  in  Arabia  1 1 7 

Of  course  the  plundering  propensities  of  the  Valis  who 
were  sent  to  govern  the  Yemen,  and  the  general  corrup- 
tion which  was  everywhere  manifested,  did  not  tend  to 
allay  the  feeling  of  opposition  or  bring  rest  and  peace 
into  a  land  that  was  torn  with  internal  strife. 

When  the  late  Sultan  Abd  ul  Hamid  came  to  the  throne 
he  was  altogether  unprepared  for  the  duties  that  lay  be- 
fore him.  Up  till  then  his  life  had,  to  all  intents  and 
purposes,  been  that  of  a  religious  recluse  whose  thoughts 
were  continually  centred  on  the  propagation  of  his  own 
faith  and  the  furtherance  of  his  own  ideas  of  God.  His 
immediate  friends  were  the  Ulema  of  Stamboul  and  the 
learned  men  of  the  strict  Koran  school  who  hated  the 
vacillating  policy  that  his  predecessor  pursued,  and 
longed  for  a  strong  man  to  rally  the  power  of  the  cal- 
iphate and  defy  the  European  nations.  To  them  "vox 
Caliphi"  should  thunder  as  "vox  Dei"  and  not  be 
heard  as  the  whisper  of  the  surrounding  powers. 

Of  these  Ulema  the  Sultan  Abd  ul  Hamid  was  an  apt 
pupil  and  in  some  ways  a  devoted  slave.  No  sooner  was 
he  raised  to  sovereign  power  than  he  showed  the  world 
that  it  was  his  intention  to  be  Imam  ul  Muslimin  in  the 
first  place  and  then  Sultan  of  Turkey.  Heaven's  vice- 
gerent he  would  be  whether  his  throne  as  an  earthly  mon- 
arch remained  or  passed  away.  In  the  religious  world 
sovereign  power  was  necessary  for  the  propagation  of  Is- 
lam and  this  he  was  determined  to  have.  Consequently 
from  the  day  that  he  entered  the  palace  as  its  ruler  he  set 
himself  to  restore  the  caliphate  to  its  pristine  glory,  and 
determined  that  both  his  own  will  should  be  obeyed  in 
the  land  and  his  faith  followed  in  every  part  of  the  Turk- 
ish Empire. 

Now  in  behaving  as  he  did  I  have  no  doubt  that  he 
was  actuated  by  the  highest  motives  that  could  appeal  to 
a  bigoted  Moslem7  s  mind  trained  as  his  had  been  to  for- 


1 1 8  Islam  and  Missions 

get  God's  justice  and  to  remember  only  Allah's  sovereign 
power. 

With  a  zeal  that  would  have  brought  honour  to  him- 
self for  all  time  had  it  been  properly  directed  and  used 
in  a  good  cause  for  a  noble  purpose,  the  Sultan  set  him- 
self to  rouse  Moslems  in  every  part  of  his  dominion  and 
tried  to  stir  them  up  to  propagate  their  faith.  There 
was  no  wandering  fanatic  that  proposed  a  jihad  or  did 
his  best  to  rouse  the  slumbering  passions  of  an  ignorant 
people  in  the  name  of  Allah  and  of  his  apostle  but  was 
sure  of  Abd  ul  Hamid's  protecting  care,  e.  #.,  all  the 
powers  in  Europe  could  not  get  him  to  punish  the  man 
who  murdered  the  secretary  of  the  Eussian  embassy  al- 
though it  was  well  known  that  the  murderer  was  one  of 
his  own  menials,  while  the  secretary,  who  was  stricken 
down  in  cold  blood  in  a  public  thoroughfare,  was  the 
trusted  friend  of  a  great  diplomatist. 

Of  course  every  person  knew  that  Abd  ul  Hamid 
thought  it  his  duty  as  the  Imam  ul  Muslimin  to  oppose 
Christianity  whenever  and  wherever  he  had  an  oppor- 
tunity for  doing  so,  and  there  were  very  few  statesmen  in 
Europe  who  were  not  aware  that  he  had  entered  con 
amore  into  the  Ulema's  plans  for  the  spread  of  Islam  and 
for  a  pan- Islamic  campaign,  yet  great  diplomatists  were 
again  and  again  deceived  by  his  plausibility  in  explain- 
ing how  it  was  that  fanatical  outbreaks  in  different  parts 
of  his  dominion  were  brought  about  by  the  Christians 
themselves. 

At  every  port  where  he  held  sway,  books,  newspapers 
and  even  letters  were  opened  and  read  to  see  if  there  was 
aught  in  them  that  could  in  any  way  be  twisted  into  a 
reflection  on  his  form  of  government,  or  be  counted  as  a 
challenge  to  Islam,  and  it  occasionally  happened  that 
even  European  post-offices  were  searched  by  his  orders. 

Can  we  then  wonder  that  in  Arabia,  where  there  was 


Political  Changes  in  Arabia  119 

little  fear  of  European  censorship,  he  did  his  best  to  be- 
numb the  minds  and  shackle  the  thoughts  of  his  subjects? 
Oppressive  measures  were  taken  to  prevent  the  entrance 
of  liberal  ideas,  as  well  as  to  prevent  the  promulgation  of 
thought  and  the  public  discussion  of  the  civil  and  relig- 
ious questions  of  the  day. 

Missionaries  were  excluded  from  every  part  of  the 
Yemen,  Nejd  and  the  Hejaz.  In  other  parts  their  work 
was  actively  opposed,  and  if  it  was  known  that  a  Moslem 
had  changed  his  creed  he  was  almost  sure  to  meet  with  a 
violent  death.  No  one  could  with  safety  to  himself  fre- 
quent a  missionary's  house.  The  highest  in  the  land  was 
never  safe  from  espionage  and  even  the  lowest  was  not 
safe  from  extortion.  Intellectual  freedom  was  abso- 
lutely forbidden.  Even  missions  to  the  Jews  were  pro- 
scribed and  Hebrew  gospels  were  forbidden  an  entrance 
to  the  Yemen.  Nothing  was  done  to  alleviate  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  poor,  although  I  am  told  that  in  some  of  the 
eastern  towns,  like  Bassora,  government  schools  were  es- 
tablished. 

In  July,  1908,  the  new  Constitution  was  proclaimed 
and  the  world  confidently  looked  forward  to  a  great 
change  being  brought  about  through  the  granting  of  lib- 
erty to  the  people.  For  the  first  time  since  Abd  ul  Hamid 
ascended  the  throne  the  people  could  read  newspapers 
and  books,  meet  their  friends  without  fear,  and  asso- 
ciate with  foreigners  without  any  suspicion.  The  words 
Liberty,  Equality,  and  Fraternity,  were  in  every  person7 s 
mouth  and  were  found  pasted  over  every  vacant  space  in 
those  towns  where  the  news  was  promulgated. 

It  was,  however,  a  considerable  time  after  the  Constitu- 
tion was  proclaimed  before  the  news  got  into  the  Yemen. 
At  first  the  governors  of  Sana  and  of  Mecca  refused  to 
believe  that  their  master  had  voluntarily  resigned  his 
autocratic  power  and  had  become  a  constitutional  mon- 


Islam  and  Missions 

arch  like  so  many  of  his  European  brethren.  But  when 
it  was  no  longer  possible  to  keep  the  news  from  filtering 
through,  they  did  their  best  to  minimize  its  significance 
and  to  lessen  its  importance  for  fear  that  the  startling 
nature  of  the  edict  should  rouse  the  Arabs  to  demand 
back  the  caliphate  seeing  that  the  Sultan  had  no  longer 
the  autocratic  power  to  maintain  it.  For  it  was  well  known 
to  every  one  that  the  Arabs  had  a  tradition  to  the  ef- 
fect that  Mohammed  had  himself  declared  the  caliphate 
to  be  the  exclusive  possession  of  the  Koreish  tribe. 
Strange  to  say,  however,  it  was  exactly  the  reverse  that 
occurred  as  even  the  Sherifs  said  that  the  religion  of  Is- 
lam had  been  lowered  by  the  same  despotism  that  had 
brought  all  civilized  institutions  into  decline  ;  and  they 
declared  that  it  was  the  Sultan's  ignorance  and  tyranny 
which  had  prevented  them  not  only  from  impartially 
speaking  the  truth  but  also  from  worthily  defending  their 
own  creed  when  it  was  severely  criticized,  as  it  had  been 
both  by  political  leaders  and  students  of  religion.  When 
this  unlocked  for  effect  was  discovered  the  political 
leaders  stayed  their  hands  till  they  would  see  what  further 
results  would  come  from  the  constitutional  freedom  that 
had  been  given  to  the  people. 

An  American  missionary  who  had  settled  in  Hodeida 
as  a  working  carpenter  went  up  to  Menakha  along  with 
his  wife,  and  a  blind  Syrian  Bible  woman.  There  they 
not  only  began  work  themselves  but  when  firmly  estab- 
lished wrote  for  reinforcements  to  help  them  in  their 
work.  It  was  not,  however,  very  long  before  a  reaction 
came.  The  Sultan  Abd  ul  Hamid  instigated  a  revolt 
against  the  Constitution,  and  once  more  tried  to  rally  the 
Moslem  world  round  his  throne  and  his  person.  He  gave 
the  signal  and  his  messengers  quickly  sped  to  every  part 
of  his  dominion.  The  revolt,  however,  was  only  a  tem- 
porary success.  For,  though  in  some  districts  there  were 


Political  Changes  in  Arabia  121 

great  massacres  of  unarmed  Christians,  it  was  not  long  till 
the  constitutionalists  got  the  victory,  deposed  the  Sultan 
and  put  a  very  large  number  of  his  immediate  followers 
to  death,  as  traitors  to  both  Constitution  and  country. 

In  Arabia  news  of  the  Sultan's  reassertion  of  power 
spread  like  wild- fire  and  roused  the  slumbering  passions 
of  a  fanatical  people  who  thought  that  Europeans  had  no 
right  to  travel  in  the  Yemen.  Some  who  were  found 
there  were  done  to  death,  and  the  authorities,  fearing  for 
the  missionaries'  safety  at  Menakha,  had  them  brought 
back  to  Hodeida  where  Mr.  Camp  died  of  fever  and 
where  the  rest  of  the  company,  despairing  of  finding  an 
entrance  to  the  hinterland,  resolved  to  return  to  their 
different  spheres  of  labour  and  left  either  for  Palestine  or 
the  United  States.  Thus  once  more  the  whole  Eed  Sea 
coast  was  without  a  single  missionary  and  the  Yemen  was 
without  a  witness  for  the  Christian  faith. 

That,  however,  a  great  change  has  transpired  since  the 
new  Sultan,  who  has  neither  the  religious  fervour  nor  the 
fanatical  zeal  of  his  predecessor,  ascended  the  throne  and 
took  the  oath  to  maintain  the  Constitution  in  the  form  in 
which  it  was  promulgated,  is  evidenced  by  the  following 
extract  from  a  letter  that  I  received  a  few  days  ago  from 
a  friend  in  Hodeida.  In  it  he  says:  "  I  have  been  up 
here  (in  Sana)  quite  two  months  now  and  have  found  the 
place  a  delightful  change  from  Hodeida.  It  is  extremely 
pleasant  and  quite  different  to  what  it  was  when  I  for- 
merly visited  the  interior.  Then  famine  was  raging  and 
the  country  was  in  a  more  or  less  disturbed  state.  But 
now  all  is  peace  and  quiet  with  the  likelihood  of  its  re- 
maining so  for  years  to  come.  For  there  appears  to  be 
very  little  likelihood  of  the  Imam  being  able  to  get  up 
another  successful  rising  against  the  Turks,  whose  posi- 
tion is  far  stronger  than  I  have  ever  known  it  to  be.  The 
Arabs  are  everywhere  attending  to  their  fields  and  farms, 


122  Islam  and  Missions 

and  as  the  whole  province  has  been  blessed  with  an 
abundant  rainfall  it  is  very  unlikely  that,  even  if  the 
Imam  wished  to  wage  war,  he  would  get  much  of  a  fol- 
lowing till  after  the  harvest  is  over. 

"  The  conditions  of  life  too  have  changed  very  consid- 
erably since  the  Constitution  was  renewed.  Now  the 
administrators  are  straining  every  nerve  of  their  diplo- 
matic skill  to  conciliate  the  Arabs  and  restore  confidence. 
Practically  no  taxes  are  demanded  nowadays  and  none 
have  been  collected  for  a  couple  of  years.  The  Ottoman 
government  has  also  abolished  a  number  of  irregular  and 
outrageous  exactions  to  which  the  poor  Yemenites  were 
formerly  subjected  under  the  Hamidian  rule.  All  octroi 
duties  and  tolls  have  now  been  abolished  both  in  Hodeida 
and  in  the  interior.  Primary  schools,  too,  are  being  es- 
tablished both  in  the  towns  and  in  the  villages  through- 
out the  Yemen,  and  it  is  proposed  to  import  a  large 
number  of  agricultural  implements  for  the  use  of  the 
farmers  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Sana.  The  government 
too  has  determined  to  bore  a  large  number  of  artesian 
wells  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  already  the  necessary 
plant  is  on  its  way  up  from  Hodeida.  It  has  also  decided 
to  spend  £15,000  in  constructing  new  roads  and  in  re- 
pairing those  already  in  use." 

Everywhere  throughout  the  Yemen  the  Ulema  are  call- 
ing upon  men  to  free  their  minds  from  the  ignorance  that 
prevents  their  seeing  the  progress  made  elsewhere  and 
from  the  obstinacy  which  blinds  them  to  the  wonderful 
achievements  in  the  arts  and  sciences  that  have  changed 
the  world  during  the  past  generation.  "  There  is  no 
use  in  any  longer  striving  among  ourselves.  Let  us 
rather, "  they  say,  "  with  brotherly  love  clasp  hand  to 
hand  and  seek  for  the  advancement  of  those  things  that 
make  for  righteousness  and  which  help  to  ameliorate  the 
sufferings  of  the  poor.'7 


Political  Changes  in  Arabia  123 

Some  of  the  Ulema  also  say  that  the  Moslem  rule  has 
become  an  object  of  ridicule  because  they  have  gone 
away  from  the  essential  requirements  of  their  religion, 
"  and  in  proportion, "  they  say,  "  as  we  fell  to  plunder- 
ing we  were  overtaken  by  poverty  and  disgrace  ;  as  we 
worshipped  the  world  and  preferred  our  selfish  and 
earthly  advantage  to  everything  else  we  became  the  slaves 
of  all  men  and  especially  the  slaves  of  those  who  were 
both  vicious  and  prodigal.  As  we  transgressed  the  rights 
of  non-Moslem  subjects  whose  rights  our  prophet  em- 
phatically commanded  us  to  respect  we  were  in  propor- 
tion to  our  sin  deprived  of  God's  help  and  became  the 
objects  of  God's  wrath. " 

Of  course  in  the  Yemen  as  in  other  parts  of  Arabia 
there  are  still  stern  fanatics  to  be  found — men  who  try  to 
stir  up  strife  by  declaring  that  if  equality  be  granted  to 
Christians,  there  is  bound  to  be  an  end  of  Islam  and  a 
falling  away  of  its  people  j  but  the  most  learned  of  the 
Sheikhs  say  that  the  law  of  Islam  enjoins  equality  and 
that  though  they  personally  can  never  believe  a  Christian 
to  be  half  as  good  a  man  as  a  Moslem,  yet  politically  and 
legally  they  should  have  equal  rights  with  the  Moslems. 

With  the  spread  of  such  opinions  and  with  the  opening 
up  of  the  country  by  means  of  railways,  roads  and 
schools,  we  may,  I  think,  find  reason  for  believing  that 
before  very  long  the  way  will  be  opened  for  the  Gospel's 
entrance  into  the  interior,  especially  if  a  number  of  real 
Christians  be  drafted  into  the  Turkish  army  as  they  were 
into  the  Eoman  army  in  the  early  days  of  Christianity, 
when  through  the  Eoman  conscription  heathenism  gave 
way  before  the  Christian  influence  of  true  believers'  lives 
daily  manifested  to  their  fellows. 

Prior  to  the  year  1908  no  Christian  was  allowed  to 
serve  as  a  soldier  in  the  Turkish  army,  but  when  the  new 
Constitution  was  promulgated  it  was  openly  declared  that 


124  Islam  and  Missions 

the  religious  test  for  the  army  was  to  be  abolished,  con- 
sequently many  Christians  sought  an  entrance  thereto. 
Later  on  it  was  discovered  that  though  there  was  in  the 
government  a  party  that  was  doing  its  best  to  introduce 
Western  ideas  and  Western  efficiency  yet  on  the  whole 
there  was  no  real  desire  to  give  equality  to  the  races. 
The  roots  of  their  social  existence  had  gone  far  too  deep 
into  the  Moslem  nature  to  be  torn  up  by  a  political  revo- 
lution, especially  when  in  the  new  state  there  was  not 
found  a  single  great  administrator  who  had  not  been  a 
servant  in  the  old  government,  and,  brought  up  as  they 
were  in  that  atmosphere,  it  was  practically  impossible  for 
them  to  get  away  from  their  old  traditions. 

In  Turkey  the  Christian  races  are  an  element  of  vital  im- 
portance to  the  country.  Yet  the  descendants  of  the  proud 
conquerors  of  Constantinople  can  scarcely  be  expected  even 
yet  to  voluntarily  put  Christians  into  official  positions  over 
Moslems.  Nevertheless  a  beginning  has  been  made,  and 
an  impetus  has  been  given  towards  final  emancipation  of 
both  Christian  and  Jew,  and  towards  the  time  when 
freedom  of  worship  will  be  given  to  every  soldier  just  as 
at  present  there  is  given  to  our  native  troops  in  India. 
And  when  this  is  done  the  government  will  have  both  a 
more  loyal  and  united  army,  and  also  a  better  instrument 
for  repressing  reactionary  movements  like  those  that  the 
late  Sultan  headed  before  he  was  deposed  from  the  throne. 
Time  will  convince  those  in  authority  that  nothing  but 
fairness,  frankness  and  impartial  treatment  of  the  men  as 
men,  whether  Moslem  or  non-Moslem,  will  ever  consolidate 
the  army  and  bring  peace  to  the  people.  If  Christians 
are  to  be  in  the  army  they  will  never  consent  to  be  mere 
followers,  they  must  be  taught  the  use  of  firearms  and 
trained  as  soldiers  like  their  fellows,  not  kept  as  hewers 
of  wood  and  drawers  of  water  like  the  Gibeonites  of  old. 
No  pressure  must  be  put  upon  them  to  make  them  conform 


Political  Changes  in  Arabia  125 

to  the  Moslem  creed,  and  no  hindrance  must  be  put  in 
their  way  to  prevent  their  giving  a  reason  for  the  faith 
that  is  in  them,  nor  must  they  or  any  converts  be 
punished  in  any  way  for  owning  and  confessing  Christ. 
As  even  according  to  their  present-day  teachers  Moslems 
are  told  that  retribution  does  not  wait  for  eternity  but 
comes  at  once  on  those  who  betray  a  trust  or  act  the 
hypocrite  ;  and  yet  what  else  are  those  doing  who  take 
Christians  into  the  army  as  soldiers  and  then  use  them  as 
scullions  ?  The  old  despotic  ideas  must  gradually  fade 
away  when  men  daring  to  stand  up  for  liberty  of  con- 
science are  able  to  persuade  their  fellows  that  wrong  is 
wrong  and  right  is  right. 

In  Arabia  especially  this  will  be  true,  for  like  the  old 
Celts  the  Arabs  of  the  present  day  have  plenty  of  vim 
but  they  lack  robur.  They  have  no  continuity  of  thought. 
It  is  one  thing  to-day  and  another  to-morrow,  and  if  steady 
pressure  is  kept  up  by  the  servants  of  God  all  will  be  well. 
At  first  strong  opposition  will  be  manifested  against  mis- 
sionaries who  go  to  settle  among  them,  but  when  they 
have  settled  the  Arab  will  shrug  his  shoulders  and  say 
"  Ala  Allah"  (God  is  responsible),  or  else  excuse  himself 
by  saying,  "I  take  refuge  with  God  from  the  mission- 
aries, "  as  the  Sayids  of  Wahat  did  when  the  government 
engineer  and  his  staff  went  up  to  survey  his  land  for 
water.  They  could  not  put  up  with  their  restlessness 
and  drove  them  from  the  village.  "  You  want  to  know 
far  too  much,"  they  said  ;  "you  are  far  too  inquisitive, 
you  want  to  know  how  the  water  comes,  how  the  storm 
rages,  what  the  clouds  are  made  of,  why  it  is  that 
thunder  roars  and  how  it  is  that  lightning  kills  but  we 
are  content  to  be  as  our  fathers  were  and  say  el-hamdu- 
lillah  when  Allah  spares  us  and  ours."  When  pressure 
however  was  put  upon  them  they  took  refuge  in  God 
against  the  engineers  and  allowed  them  to  do  their  work. 


1 26  Islam  and  Missions 

If  then  the  Church  rouses  itself  to  evangelize  Arabia, 
Islam  is  doomed  and  must  sooner  or  later  take  its  place 
among  the  religions  that  have  preceded  it  in  the  land  of 
I  the  Arab.  After  its  own  fashion  it  has  done  God's  work, 
but  the  time  has  come  for  a  general  advance,  and  when 
that  advance  begins,  the  cleavage  in  Islam  will  widen 
and  a  new  form  of  Islam  will  arise  with  subtler  doctrine 
and  purer  life  but  even  that  must  finally  give  way  before 
the  higher  life  of  true  Christianity. 

That  larger  opportunity  will  soon  be  given  to  the 
Church  no  person  conversant  with  current  events  can  for 
a  moment  doubt,  for  it  is  impossible  to  take  up  a  news- 
paper or  a  periodical  that  deals  with  Arabia  without  dis- 
covering a  much  healthier  tone  in  the  articles  than  there 
was  two  or  three  years  ago.  Public  opinion  is  asserting 
itself  in  a  way  that  was  undreamed  of  under  the  Hamidian 
regime,  and  not  only  are  great  schemes  being  projected 
that  are  bound  to  have  a  civilizing  effect  on  the  people, 
but  in  some  cases  at  least  they  are  being  carried  into  ef- 
fect. German  engineers  are  at  work  I  am  told  on  the 
Bagdad  railway  and  Sir  Wm.  Willcocks  with  a  large 
staff  of  competent  engineers  is  at  work  surveying  the 
Euphrates  valley  and  trying  to  discover  the  best  way  of 
forwarding  his  great  barrage  scheme  which  will  bring  more 
than  3,200,000  acres  of  most  valuable  land  under  cultiva- 
tion. And  as  the  bringing  of  those  Mesopotamian  plains 
under  cultivation  will  necessitate  railway  construction  to- 
gether with  the  bringing  in  of  both  European  capital  and 
Western  enterprise,  no  one  who  remembers  how  Christian- 
ity travelled  along  the  Eoman  roads  can  for  a  moment 
doubt  but  that  this  also  is  to  be  God' s  way  of  making  an  en- 
trance for  the  Gospel.  And  when  one  hears  from  Eastern 
Arabia  that  even  the  Arabs  (with  whom  Abd  ul  Hamid 
was  personally  popular  because  of  his  pan-Islamic  lean- 
ings) are  saying,  "  Thank  God  we  have  been  saved  from 


Political  Changes  in  Arabia  127 

autocracy,  we  have  broken  the  chain  of  slavery  but  lest 
we  come  under  another  we  must  deal  with  non- Moslems 
as  brothers  because  we  are  all  sons  of  one  fatherland,"  we 
have  good  reason  for  supposing  that  an  incident  which 
Dr.  Worrall  relates  is  prophetic  of  the  future. 

In  former  times,  he  says,  though  a  Moslem  had 
voluntarily  testified  to  his  belief  in  Christ,  when  he  died 
his  body  was  buried  as  that  of  a  Moslem.  Now  we  had 
recently  a  convert  who  died  and  his  last  open  confession 
was  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  although  he  was  unconscious 
at  the  time  of  his  death.  A  statement  to  that  effect  was 
made  to  the  Mulla  and  the  reply  which  he  sent  was  to 
the  following  effect :— As  the  man  died  a  Christian  and  as 
this  is  a  time  of  freedom  we  can  do  nothing  to  take  the 
body  ;  do  as  you  like  with  it. 

Another  significant  fact  is  added  by  him :  Formerly 
the  mission  doors  were  always  closed  before  prayers  with 
the  patients  so  as  to  give  effect  to  the  fiction  that  where  a 
foreigner  dwelt  was  a  part  of  the  country  to  which  the 
foreigner  belonged.  So  closed  doors  made  us  dwell  on 
American  soil  and  the  patients  were  looked  on  as  if  they 
were  American.  But  now  except  for  the  fact  that  there 
are  many  interruptions  when  the  door  is  open,  there  is  no 
reason  for  closing  the  doors  and  there  never  seems  to  be 
any  difficulty  put  in  the  way  of  getting  a  free  talk  with 
any  man  about  Christ.  Thus  the  Haniidian  regime  has 
passed  and  with  it,  we  believe,  the  despair,  and  the  long- 
drawn-out  threat  of  death  to  Christianity  in  Arabia. 
With  liberty,  a  free  field,  and  no  favour  none  of  us  can 
doubt  the  result.  What  we  want  to  win  Arabia  is  con- 
secrated men  and  women  whose  souls  are  afire  with  love 
for  God. 


IX 

POLITICAL  CHANGES  IN  PERSIA 
REV.  L.  F.  ESSELSTYN,  PERSIA 

THE  late  All  Askar,  Attabeg,  Minister  of  the  In- 
terior and  President  of  the  Council  of  State  at 
the  time  of  his  assassination  on  August  31,  1907, 
when  speaking  on  the  floor  of  the  National  Assembly 
shortly  before  his  death,  referring  to  the  prominence  into 
which  Persia  has  come  before  the  world,  truly  said : 
"  Formerly  not  a  paragraph  was  printed  about  Persia 
once  a  month,  but  now  the  European  press  contains 
columns  every  day."  During  the  last  few  years,  Persia 
has  been  so  constantly  and  prominently  before  the  world 
that  everybody  understands  that  she  is  in  a  transition  state 
of  evolution.  In  view  of  the  general  familiarity  with 
what  has  taken  place,  we  give  only  a  brief  outline  of  the 
political  changes  which  have  occurred  up  to  the  present 
time. 

In  order  to  better  understand  these  changes  and  the 
present  situation,  let  me  say  a  few  words  about  the  char- 
acter of  the  Persians,  my  opinion  being  based  on  observa- 
tion and  experience  during  the  twenty-three  years  I  have 
lived  in  the  country.  The  characteristic  Persians  are 
mild,  and  easy  to  get  along  with.  Travellers,  and  even 
some  foreign  residents  sometimes  express  another  opinion. 
The  Persians7  mental  processes  and  their  code  of  morals 
are  so  different  from  ours  that  they  are  sometimes  very 
trying  to  us  Westerners.  Knowing  them  intimately  for 
many  years,  I  have  found  them  kind-hearted  and  hospi- 
table. 

128 


Political  Changes  in  Persia  129 

The  Persians  become  impossible  only  under  trying  or 
aggravating  surroundings,  or  as  a  result  of  hereditary  in- 
fluences  5  and  the  undesirable  traits  of  character  some- 
times attributed  to  them  attach  not  so  much  to  the  Persians 
as  such,  but  to  human  nature. 

All  Persians  divide  themselves  into  two  classes,  those 
who  rule  and  those  who  serve.  The  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  of  America  teaches  that  all  men  are  created 
free  and  equal,  and  that  idea  is  innate  in  every  natural 
born  American  citizen.  Not  so  with  the  Persians.  They 
either  rule  over  those  who  are  subject  to  their  power,  or 
serve  under  those  who  are  in  authority  over  them.  So 
prevalent  is  this  idea  among  them,  that  nearly  all 
Persians  bear  both  relations.  Almost  every  one  of  them 
recognizes  the  authority  of  some  one  over  him,  and  in 
turn  exercises  more  or  less  arbitrary  authority  over  some 
one  under  him.  They  are  by  nature  adapted  to  a 
monarchical  form  of  government,  and  by  the  same 
nature  they  are  loyal  to  the  throne.  Local  circumstances 
may  lead  them  into  rebellion,  but  by  nature  they  are 
loyal  to  authority.  Having  before  us  this  view  of  the 
character  of  the  Persians,  we  are  now  ready  to  outline 
the  political  changes  that  have  occurred  during  these  last 
years. 

The  present  reform  movement  had  its  origin  in  the  in- 
telligent patriotism  of  Mirza  Taghe  Khan,  who  was  Yezir 
to  Nasir  ed  din  Shah  and  grandfather  to  the  deposed 
Mohammed  Ali  Shah  on  his  mother's  side.  The  down- 
fall of  this  able  minister  and  his  death  at  the  hands  of  an 
assassin  in  1852  put  an  end  to  all  talk  of  administrative 
reform  for  some  time. 

Again  in  1891  the  people  rebelled  in  connection  with 
the  incident  of  the  Tobacco  Corporation.  But  five  years 
later,  the  murder  of  Nasir  ed  din  Shah,  perpetrated  as  it 
was  within  a  famous  shrine  and  sanctuary,  was  held  in 


130  Islam  and  Missions  • 

such  righteous  abhorrence  that  for  a  time  it  strengthened 
what  it  was  intended  to  end  or  at  least  weaken,  namely, 
the  influence  and  power  of  the  Kajar  dynasty. 

The  people  patiently  waited  for  what  the  reign  of  the 
new  Shah,  Muzaffar  ed  din,  might  bring  forth.  He  was  al- 
ready sick  in  body  when  he  came  to  the  throne  in  1896. 
His  characteristics,  previous  life,  and  education  had  not 
been  such  as  to  fit  him  to  rule  the  country  during  a 
transition  period  of  very  critical  and  trying  circum- 
stances. The  unfulfilled  promises  of  this  Shah,  the 
hopes  encouraged  by  each  succeeding  Grand  Vezir,  and 
the  extravagance  of  the  court  while  the  people  were  in 
poverty  and  the  country  without  industrial  prosperity, 
led  to  the  unrest  in  Teheran,  and  in  fact  all  over  Persia, 
which  culminated  in  the  constitutional  reforms  granted 
by  Muzaffar  ed  din  just  before  his  death. 

In  1906  a  great  crowd  assembled  in  the  principal  mosque 
of  Teheran  and  denounced  the  Grand  Vezir,  the  govern- 
ment, and  the  administration,  and  demanded  reforms. 
Eiots  followed  and  several  persons  were  killed.  Thou- 
sands went  to  the  British  Legation  and  took  sanctuary. 
Among  the  things  they  demanded  were  a  constitutional 
government  and  a  representative  system. 

Muzaffar  ed  din  Shah  conceded  their  demands  and  on 
August  14, 1906,  made  a  royal  decree  for  the  formation  of 
a  National  Assembly  ;  the  election  ordinance  was  issued 
by  his  decree  on  September  9,  1906  ;  and  the  Persian 
National  Assembly  was  opened  by  the  Shah  on  October 
4,  1906,  within  three  months  after  the  demonstration  in 
the  mosque  above  referred  to.  The  new  Constitution  was 
signed  by  Muzaffar  ed  din  Shah  on  December  30,  1906, 
and  also  sealed  by  the  Crown  Prince,  who  had  hastened 
from  Tabriz  to  Teheran  owing  to  the  critical  illness  of 
the  Shah,  and  by  the  Grand  Yezir.  The  Crown  Prince 
was  required  to  seal  it  as  a  condition  of  his  succeeding 


Political  Changes  in  Persia  131 

to  the  throne.  He  ratified  it  in  February,  1907,  after  he 
came  to  the  throne. 

The  discontent  of  the  people  was  doubtless  fostered  by 
the  outcome  of  the  Eusso-Japanese  war,  and  was  ag- 
gravated by  the  Anglo-Eussian  Agreement  of  1907. 
About  the  time  that  agreement  was  published,  one  of  the 
Persian  newspapers  printed  a  paragraph  to  the  effect  that, 
"  The  Anglo-Eussian  Agreement  is  like  this  : — A  and  B 
sit  down  and  divide  the  ancient  ancestral  inheritance  of  C 
without  so  much  as  even  saying,  '  By  your  leave  M  " 

As  stated  in  the  preamble  to  the  Constitution,  the  ob- 
jects of  the  National  Assembly  were  to  promote  the 
prosperity  of  the  nation,  to  improve  the  condition  of  the 
country,  to  strengthen  the  foundations  of  the  state,  and 
to  execute  the  laws  of  the  holy  prophet. 

The  Assembly  was  to  represent  the  whole  population  of 
the  kingdom  of  Persia,  and  consist  of  a  hundred  and  sixty- 
two  members  with  the  possibility  of  increasing  the  num- 
ber to  two  hundred.  They  were  to  be  elected  by  the  peo- 
ple from  Teheran  and  the  provinces,  each  for  a  term  of 
two  years. 

By  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution,  old  laws  to  be 
revised  or  new  ones  to  be  enacted  ;  negotiations  for  con- 
cessions ;  treaties  ;  loans,  and  all  financial  measures,  in- 
cluding the  royal  expenditures  ;  the  levying  of  taxes  ; 
the  construction  of  railroads  ;  all  depended  upon  the 
National  Assembly. 

The  Constitution  also  provided  for  the  formation  of  a 
Senate  to  consist  of  sixty  members,  fifteen  of  them  to  be 
appointed  by  the  Shah  and  forty-five  to  be  elected  by  the 
people.  After  the  formation  of  the  Senate,  all  measures 
were  to  receive  the  approval  of  both  the  Assembly  and 
the  Senate  before  going  into  effect. 

Muzaffar  ed  din  Shah, the  monarch  who  granted  the  Con- 
stitution, died  during  the  night  between  January  8  and 


132  Islam  and  Missions 

9,  1907,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Mohammed  All 
Shah.  When  the  latter  came  to  the  throne,  the  people 
were  in  a  state  of  expectancy.  His  father  had  been  a 
Liberal,  and  his  mother's  father  had  died  a  martyr  to  the 
cause  of  reform.  But  though  the  Constitution  had  been 
sanctioned  by  his  dying  father,  there  could  be  no  reason 
to  believe  that  in  itself  it  would  be  more  agreeable  to 
Mohammed  Ali  Shah  than  similar  restraints  upon  the  au- 
thority of  an  absolute  monarch  would  be  to  any  Oriental 
sovereign. 

After  a  few  months  of  discord,  Mohammed  Ali  Shah 
called  back  from  exile  in  Europe  the  former  Prime  Min- 
ister Ali  Askar,  giving  him  his  former  title  Attabeg,  and 
appointing  him  Minister  of  the  Interior  with  power  to 
select  Ministers  for  the  other  Departments  of  State.  Dur- 
ing the  two  previous  reigns,  Attabeg  had  risen  to  the 
highest  post  in  the  service  of  the  state  and  wielded  the 
strongest  single  personal  influence  of  the  court.  Of  his 
capability  there  was  no  question. 

About  half -past  eight  in  the  evening  of  August  31, 
1907,  he  was  shot  and  killed  as  he  came  out  of  the  gate 
of  the  National  Assembly  grounds.  Many  secret  com- 
mittees had  come  into  existence  with  one  general  commit- 
tee to  represent  them  all.  Some  time  in  August  a  dozen 
or  fifteen  men  representing  these  secret  committees  waited 
on  Attabeg  and  demanded  certain  things  of  him.  "What 
it  was  they  demanded  of  him  was  not  made  public ;  but 
he  was  told  that  he  was  marked  for  death  unless  he  com- 
plied with  their  conditions.  Other  prominent  men  were 
also  notified  that  they  were  marked  for  death  unless  they 
complied  with  certain  conditions.  Occasionally  a  bomb 
was  thrown  in  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  kill  some  one, 
and  now  and  then  one  was  left  at  the  door  of  some  man 
with  a  note  attached  as  a  warning. 

On  the  day  of  Attabeg7  s  assassination,  the  eight  mem- 


Political  Changes  in  Persia  133 

bers  of  the  Shah's  cabinet  came  down  from  their  country 
places  and  delivered  to  Parliament  the  following  message 
from  the  Shah  :  "  Up  to  the  present  time  I  have  opposed 
the  Parliament,  but  now  I  am  convinced  that  the  safety, 
progress,  and  welfare  of  the  nation  depend  upon  myself, 
my  ministers,  and  the  Parliament  working  in  accord  and 
sympathy,  and  now  you  may  rely  upon  me  to  carry  out 
any  measures  that  the  Parliament  may  pass  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  country. " 

There  was  great  enthusiasm  in  Parliament  when  this 
message  was  made  known,  but  Attabeg's  murderer  was 
waiting  for  him  and  shot  him  as  he  came  out  after  deliv- 
ering this  message.  That  night  Sayed  Abdullah,  the 
most  prominent  ecclesiastic  in  Teheran,  who  had  had 
much  influence  in  establishing  the  Parliament,  was  mur- 
dered in  his  own  house. 

Article  XIII  of  the  Constitution  provides  that  news- 
paper reporters  may  be  present  in  the  National  Assembly 
and  that  newspapers  may  print  the  whole  of  the  discus- 
sions. Any  person  having  views  tending  to  the  tranquil- 
lity of  the  state  may  communicate  them  to  the  popular 
journals.  So  long  therefore  as  the  newspapers  print 
nothing  inimical  to  the  fundamental  interests  of  the  state 
and  nation,  they  have  full  liberty  to  publish  questions 
tending  to  the  common  weal.  Just  before  this  popular 
demonstration  movement  broke  out  in  Persia,  there  were 
almost  no  newspapers  printed  and  circulated  in  Persia, 
and  such  as  existed  were  strictly  limited  in  what  they 
might  publish.  Since  then,  some  forty  or  fifty  have 
sprung  up  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  enjoying  a 
large  degree  of  freedom  of  speech  or  being  suppressed  by 
the  government,  just  according  to  circumstances  and  ac- 
cording to  what  they  print.  At  the  present  time  there 
are  several  papers  being  published  but  not  so  many  as 
there  were  at  first. 


134  Islam  and  Missions 

For  some  months  after  the  murder  of  Attabeg,  there 
was  discord  between  the  Shah  and  the  National  Assem- 
bly, and  dissatisfaction  on  the  part  of  the  people.  In 
February,  1908,  an  attempt  was  made  on  the  Shah's  life 
by  throwing  a  bomb  at  his  automobile.  He  was  unin- 
jured though  several  men  and  horses  were  killed.  He 
immediately  went  into  retirement  in  the  palace,  until 
June  4th,  when  he  suddenly  came  out  and  took  up  his 
residence  in  one  of  his  gardens  just  outside  and  west  of 
the  city.  Here  he  collected  a  large  army  in  camp.  Ne- 
gotiations continued  between  the  Shah  and  the  Parlia- 
ment, and  the  Shah  captured  and  punished  several  prom- 
inent men.  Finally  the  Shah  ordered  the  Eussian  Colo- 
nel who  was  in  charge  of  the  Cossack  regiment  to 
bombard  and  destroy  the  Parliament  building  and  all 
buildings  known  to  be  headquarters  of  Eevolutionary 
secret  societies.  This  was  done  on  the  forenoon  of  June 
24,  1908,  and  by  the  Shah's  permission  much  pillaging  on 
a  large  scale  was  done  that  day  and  the  next.  Large  and 
costly  Persian  rugs  in  the  Parliament  building  were 
slashed  into  pieces  small  enough  for  a  man  to  carry  and 
great  mirrors  were  shattered  and  each  man  took  what  he 
could  get.  Some  of  the  plunderers  worked  on  a  larger 
scale  and  we  saw  them  taking  their  spoils  through  the 
city  by  mule  loads  and  wagon  loads.  Among  the  houses 
plundered  were  those  of  the  Zil  es  Sultan,  an  uncle  of  Mo- 
hammed Ali  Shah,  and  the  Zarh  ed  Doleh  whose  wife  was 
the  Shah's  aunt.  In  the  Zil  es  Sultan's  house  were  heir- 
looms of  great  value  that  had  come  down  in  the  family 
through  hundreds  of  years — carpets,  pottery,  and  curios. 
These  were  ruthlessly  destroyed  or  carried  off.  The 
Zarh  ed  Doleh  had  in  his  house  perhaps  the  rarest  and 
most  valuable  collection  of  Persian  books  and  manu- 
scripts in  existence.  They  were  all  destroyed  or  carried 
away. 


Political  Changes  in  Persia  135 

Perhaps  a  hundred  Cossacks  were  killed  and  wounded, 
and  two  or  three  hundred  on  the  other  side.  The  Shah 
proclaimed  Teheran  to  be  in  a  state  of  siege,  with  the 
Eussian  Colonel  Liokoff  as  Military  Governor.  The 
Shah  also  captured  and  executed,  sometimes  by  torture, 
a  number  of  men ;  preachers  and  newspaper  men  were 
among  these  victims. 

Notwithstanding  the  Shah's  proclamations  that  the  in- 
cident was  past,  and  that  the  people  should  now  return 
to  peace  and  quiet  and  follow  their  daily  industrial  pur- 
suits, they  distrusted  him  more  than  ever.  Even  when 
he  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  effect  that  the  Parlia- 
ment was  dissolved  and  that  in  about  six  months  he 
would  issue  an  order  for  the  election  of  a  new  Parliament 
they  did  not  believe  him.  He  had  broken  the  oath 
which  he  had  written  and  sealed  upon  the  Koran  to  be 
loyal  to  the  Constitution.  He  had  completely  destroyed 
the  Parliament  as  an  organization,  killed  some  of  the 
members,  and  destroyed  the  building. 

The  revolutionists  however  were  not  subdued.  One 
province  after  another  revolted  against  the  Shah.  The 
siege  of  Tabriz  by  the  royal  army  in  the  autumn  of  1908 
lasted  some  months,  and  finally  ended  by  intervention, 
and  Eussian  troops  were  sent  there  to  secure  the  safety  of 
foreign  residents,  and  to  escort  provisions  to  the  city, 
though  by  many  it  was  thought  to  mean  merely  Eussian 
occupation  of  that  part  of  Persia.  Then  the  Shah  issued 
a  proclamation  again  granting  the  Constitution,  and  an- 
other granting  full  pardon  to  all  offenders.  But  all  these 
things  did  not  restore  the  country  to  a  normal  condition. 

An  army  was  raised  by  the  Sipahdar,  a  wealthy  gen- 
tleman of  Teheran  who  at  the  time  was  in  the  northern 
province  of  Ghilan,  aided  by  Sadr  Assad,  one  of  the  chiefs 
of  the  Bakhtiari  tribesmen  in  the  south,  consisting  of  or- 
dinary Persians,  Bakhtiaris  and  several  hundred  revolu- 


136  Islam  and  Missions 

tionists  from  the  Caucasus,  the  leader  of  whom  was  the 
Armenian  Ephraim  who  has  since  distinguished  himself 
as  a  fighter.  This  army  marched  on  Teheran  and  entered 
the  city  on  July  13,  1909.  Three  days'  fighting  ensued 
between  this  army  and  the  Shah's  troops,  at  the  end  of 
which  the  Shah  took  refuge  in  the  Bussian  Legation  and 
his  troops  surrendered. 

A  provisional  government  was  formed.  The  Shah's 
taking  refuge  in  the  Eussian  Legation  was  considered  by 
the  provisional  government  and  by  the  legations  to  be 
his  abdication.  His  young  son  of  about  twelve  years, 
Ahmed  Sultan,  was  proclaimed  Shah,  a  Eegent  was  ap- 
pointed, and  Mohammed  Ali  Shah  was  required  to  go  to 
Eussia.  In  due  time  the  Parliament  buildings  were  re- 
paired, and  the  National  Assembly  reconstituted. 

It  is  now  a  little  more  than  a  year  since  the  abdication 
of  Mohammed  Ali  Shah.  The  country  has  not  become 
prosperous,  safe,  or  quiet.  Uprisings  have  taken  place 
in  various  provinces.  Travel  is  not  considered  safe,  and 
some  of  the  chief  commercial  roads  are  practically 
blocked  by  robbers.  Government  mails  are  robbed. 
Business  depression  is  extreme.  The  cabinet  has  repeat- 
edly been  altered,  and  just  recently  an  entirely  new 
cabinet  has  been  formed.  During  the  year,  a  number  of 
men  charged  with  political  offenses  have  been  publicly 
hanged,  and  others,  without  the  formality  of  charges  be- 
ing made,  have  been  shot  in  their  houses  at  night.  It 
seems  never  to  come  to  light  who  is  the  cause  of  these 
secret  murders.  But  none  of  these  caused  as  great  com- 
motion as  the  murder  of  Sayed  Abdullah  mentioned  above 
in  connection  with  Attabeg.  Public  rows  and  murders 
on  the  streets  have  been  more  or  less  frequent.  Early  in 
August  of  this  present  year  (1910)  the  government,  pro- 
fessedly to  prevent  murder  and  promote  public  safety, 
issued  a  proclamation  for  all  revolutionists  to  lay 


Political  Changes  in  Persia  137 

down  their  arms  except  certain  guards  specified  and 
kept  under  arms  to  police  the  city.  This  resulted  in  the 
disarming  of  Sattar  Khan  and  several  hundred  of  his  fol- 
lowers by  force  on  Sunday,  August  7th,  in  the  north  part 
of  Teheran.  There  was  of  course  bloodshed  and  some 
destruction  of  property  and  the  populace  was  newly 
plunged  into  discord,  faction  pitted  against  faction,  ac- 
cording to  whether  they  sympathize  with  the  government 
or  with  Sattar  Khan. 

Every  existing  commodity  has  been  burdened  with 
taxes.  The  people  are  in  a  spirit  of  bitter  discontent. 
Teheran  has  become  an  "  open  town  "  under  the  "  New 
Persia"  government.  Brothels,  public  drinking  houses, 
gambling  and  opium  dens,  have  increased.  Persia's  for- 
eign obligations  are  between  five  and  six  million  pounds 
sterling.  There  is  also  a  large  indebtedness  within  the 
country.  It  is  possible  that  under  a  competent  manage- 
ment she  might  develop  latent  resources  to  pay  off  all 
her  indebtedness  and  finance  the  country.  At  present, 
however,  she  has  no  money,  and  so  far  no  statesmen  have 
appeared  equal  to  the  situation.  Some  men  of  ability 
have  been  killed  or  forced  to  leave  the  country.  In  a 
word,  the  present  situation  is,  general  discontent  of  the 
people,  a  heavy  debt,  no  money,  and  lack  of  statesmen. 

Such  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  political  changes  that  have 
taken  place  in  Persia.  It  is  more  difficult  to  speak  of 
the  relation  of  these  political  changes  to  Islam.  The  state 
religion  of  Persia  is  Islam.  Religious  liberty  has  never 
been  granted.  One  professed  object  of  the  National  As- 
sembly, as  stated  in  the  preamble  to  the  Constitution,  is  to 
execute  the  laws  of  the  holy  prophet.  That  means  that  the 
Constitutional  Monarchy  shall  be  conducted  consistently 
with  the  teachings  of  the  Koran,  and  is  a  precaution 
against  the  creeping  in  of  religious  liberty.  "Now  and 
again  expressions  of  the  government  or  of  high  officials 


138  Islam  and  Missions 

have  been  interpreted  by  some  people  as  indicating  a 
hopeful  tendency  towards  religious  freedom.  Meanwhile 
religious  liberty  has  never  been  granted,  and  now  and 
again  there  are  outbursts  of  Mohammedan  fanaticism 
against  the  Babis  or  the  Jews  or  others.  At  present  there 
is  nothing  tangible  on  which  to  base  a  definite  hope  or 
probability  of  official  religious  freedom,  yet  it  is  a  fact 
that  at  least  in  some  parts  of  Persia  there  is  a  considerable 
degree  of  religious  laxity  as  compared  with  the  strict  Mo- 
hammedanism enjoined  by  the  Koran. 

But  it  should  be  said  in  this  connection  that  while 
there  is  a  loud  demand  for  education,  as  instanced  by  the 
Women's  Educational  Movement,  and  they  seem  to  think 
that  education  is  the  sure  remedy  for  all  Persia's  diffi- 
culties, yet  there  is  no  popular  demand  for  Christianity 
as  such,  they  only  desiring  those  results  of  Christianity 
which  might  be  covered  by  the  expression  "  modern  civ- 
ilization," provided  they  can  get  these  benefits  without 
the  Christian  religion  itself. 

During  the  last  half  century  Babism  or  Bahaism  has 
gained  thousands  of  followers  in  Persia.  In  the  early 
years  of  these  sects  the  movement  was  carried  on  in  strict 
secrecy  for  fear  of  persecution  from  the  orthodox.  Mos- 
lems. During  the  last  few  years  the  Babis  and  Bahais 
have  become  bold  and  more  or  less  open  in  advocating 
their  doctrines.  Some  few  foreigners  have  come  into  the 
country  professing  to  be  Babis  or  Bahais  and  have  openly 
joined  themselves  to  the  movement.  Largely  the  feeling 
prevails  that  with  the  new  liberty  which  has  come  to  ex- 
ist with  regard  to  many  other  things  these  religionists 
may  also  come  in  for  a  degree  of  protection  from  persecu- 
tion. 

Many  Moslems  openly  admit  that  Islam  is  in  a  very 
retrograde  condition.  Some  of  the  best  of  them  advocate 
return  to  the  teaching  of  the  Koran  before  there  can  be 


Political  Changes  in  Persia  139 

any  real  reform  or  prosperity  in  Persia.  On  the  other 
hand,  some  admit  that  the  country  will  never  prosper 
while  that  religion  prevails.  I  doubt  not  there  are  thou- 
sands of  nominal  Moslems  who  are  rationalists  or  have 
gone  out  of  Islam  into  some  other  sect  or  else  hold  no  def- 
inite religious  views  at  all.  Many  of  them  have  been  to 
Russia,  France,  England,  and  even  some  to  America  and 
have  seen  the  progress  of  Western  countries  under  the 
sway  of  nominal  Christianity.  Commercial  intercourse 
with  the  outside  world  has  shown  the  Persians  that  Chris- 
tian nations  have  much  that  is  good  which  no  Moham- 
medan country  ever  can  possess. 

The  political  changes  above  narrated  are  of  course  pro- 
fessedly the  demands  of  the  people  for  political  liberty, 
and  although  it  is  quite  true  that  the  movement  is  being 
managed  by  a  very  small  part  of  Persia's  people,  it  is 
sweeping  the  whole  country  before  it.  And  while  pro- 
fessedly political,  it  is  also  promoting,  though  perhaps 
incidentally,  every  kind  of  liberty,  including  that  which 
is  religious  and  that  which  goes  beyond  liberty  and 
should  be  called  license.  In  a  word,  the  effect  of  these 
political  changes  on  Islam  is  tending  to  break  the  fanat- 
ical power  of  that  religion. 

In  attempting  to  speak  of  the  outlook  for  Christian 
missions  we  take  up  a  subject  extremely  delicate  and 
largely  speculative.  The  work  of  Christian  missions  in 
Persia  was  probably  never  held  up  to  keener  criticism, 
and  at  least  some  of  it  probably  never  enjoyed  higher 
favour  with  the  best  Persians  than  at  present.  There 
never  was  a  time  when  greater  caution  and  wisdom  were 
called  for  on  the  part  of  Christian  missionaries  than  at 
the  present.  It  should  be  our  constant  endeavour  to 
make  our  work  and  influence  commend  themselves  to  the 
Persians,  convincing  them  that  the  work  we  are  doing 
here  is  of  vital  value  and  benefit  to  them.  Every 


140  Islam  and  Missions 

reasonable  effort  should  be  made  not  to  offend  but  to  at- 
tract. Persia  is  in  a  sensitive  condition.  It  is  not  wise 
to  argue  against  the  weakness  of  their  religious  system, 
but  if  we  can  by  God's  help  correctly  represent  to  the 
Moslems  the  holy  beauty  and  infinite  saving  power  of 
Jesus  Christ  and  His  Gospel,  the  fallacies  of  their  own 
religion  will  become  evident  to  them.  Present  condi- 
tions do  not  constitute  an  opportunity  for  the  wholesale 
forcing  of  Christianity  upon  the  Persians,  but  instead  of 
that,  we  should  carry  on  the  work  with  great  caution  and 
discretion.  Many  of  the  Persians  are  willing  and  ready 
to  let  themselves  and  their  children  be  influenced  by 
Christianity  and  take  their  chances  as  to  whether  these 
influences  will  ultimately  lead  to  their  becoming  Chris- 
tians. This  fact  is  especially  noticeable  in  the  educa- 
tional movement  that  has  taken  hold  of  the  country. 
They  are  demanding  modern  education  for  both  sexes ; 
many  of  them  are  anxious  to  put  their  children  into  the 
mission  schools  even  though  they  know  that  the  Bible  is 
regularly  taught.  Christian  missions  in  Persia  should 
adequately  cope  therefore  with  the  present  demand  for 
education.  The  future  of  Christian  missions  during  the 
next  few  years  in  Persia  depends,  under  the  will  of  God, 
upon  political  developments,  the  quality  of  the  mission- 
aries, and  the  prayers  of  the  Church. 


THE  SITUATION  IN  INDIA 
REV.  W.  A.  WILSON,  M.  A.,  D,D.,  INDORE 

BELIEVING  that  the  religion  which  has  the  Lord 
Jesus  for  its  centre  and  its  life  is  the  religion 
that  all  men  need  and  which  God  designs  for  all 
men,  we  must  face  the  fact  that  among  non- Christian 
religions  Mohammedanism,  though  the  most  closely  re- 
lated to  Christianity  in  its  origin  and  growth,  is,  more 
than  any  other,  antagonistic  to  its  central  principles. 
While  it  has  points  of  contact  in  its  doctrines  regarding 
the  nature  of  God  and  His  relation  to  the  world,  yet  in 
its  attitude  to  the  basal  Christian  doctrines  of  God's 
fatherhood,  the  incarnation,  the  nature  of  sin  and  re- 
demption, it  is  uncompromisingly  hostile  ;  and  because  of 
the  kindred  truth  it  contains,  there  is  ground  for  the 
opinion  that  the  final  struggle  for  the  religious  conquest 
of  Eastern  nations  will  be  between  Christianity  and  Islam. 

While  Hinduism,  in  some  of  its  reforming  sects,  is  in 
these  days  being  galvanized  into  a  kind  of  missionary 
activity,  its  genius  is  not  aggressive,  but  both  Mohammed- 
anism and  Christianity  are  bound  to  seek  expansion, 
each  after  its  kind,  the  one  by  accretion  out  of  the  mate- 
rial of  its  environment,  the  other  by  the  power  of  its  trans- 
forming life. 

Differing  though  they  do  in  motive,  methods  and 
means,  they  both  aim  at  bringing  the  world  to  the  obedi- 
ence of  their  faith. 

As  Christians,  possessing  the  highest  revelation  of  God 
and  the  knowledge  of  His  redemptive  work  for  humanity, 

141 


142  Islam  and  Missions 

and  quickened  by  the  divine  life  which  the  Lord  Jesus  has 
brought  into  the  world,  and  knowing  that  the  people  of 
Islam  lack  what  we  have  to  give,  and  are  perishing  be- 
cause of  that  lack,  we  owe  it  to  them  and  to  our  Lord  to 
supplant  at  any  cost  the  faith  of  Islam  by  the  religion  of 
Jesus. 

For  all  who  would  be  loyal  to  the  Lord  Jesus, 
Mohammedanism  is  a  force  to  be  reckoned  with,  as 
either  hindering  or  helping  in  the  establishing  of  His 
kingdom.  Whatever  relates  to  its  movements,  its 
changes,  its  trend,  should  be  to  them  a  matter  of  deep 
concern. 

Islam  in  India  has  long  been  marked  by  religious  ex- 
clusiveness  and  political  stagnancy,  and  its  followers  have 
lagged  far  behind  in  the  developing  civilization  of  the  na- 
tions and  in  the  things  that  make  a  people  great  and  good. 

But  now  it  has  begun  to  realize  its  want  of  harmony 
with  the  age  we  live  in,  and  it  is  unable  to  resist  the 
many  varied  and  far-reaching  influences,  due  to  scientific 
progress  and  mental  activity  in  the  various  departments 
of  thought  and  life,  that  have  within  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century  increased  in  force  among  Western  nations,  and 
that  are  now  penetrating  the  masses  of  Eastern  humanity, 
producing  new  movements,  awakening  new  aspirations 
and  ideals,  and  stirring  up  new  energies  and  powers 
destined  to  change  the  character  of  nations,  and  the  face 
of  the  world. 

During  the  last  half  century  and  more,  Islam  in  India 
has  been  free,  under  the  impartial  rule  of  Britain,  to 
develop  whatever  of  good  there  may  be  in  it,  but  no  vital 
force  for  internal  regeneration  has  been  manifested. 
Within  the  last  decade,  however,  it  has  awakened  to  a 
very  marked  activity,  and  to  the  originating  of  movements 
whose  results,  for  weal  or  woe,  only  the  future  can  dis- 
close. While  it  has  been  responding  to  the  recent 


The  Situation  in  India  143 

world- wide  influences  of  the  pan- Islamic  movement, 
there  have  been  political  changes  in  India,  great  and  far- 
reaching,  and  creating  such  new  conditions  fraught  with 
good  or  ill  to  the  people  themselves  and  to  the  cause  of 
Christian  missions,  that  practical  problems  are  sure  to 
arise  demanding  the  earnest  attention  of  all  working  for 
the  establishment  of  the  kingdom  of  God  in  this  land. 

Within  the  last  five  years  the  changes  in  the  political 
relationships  of  the  people  of  India  have  created  poten- 
tialities whose  outcome  it  is  beyond  our  power  to  forecast. 
We  can  do  little  more  than  mark  the  trend  of  the  new 
movements. 

The  most  important  event  in  the  history  of  the  admin- 
istration of  government  in  India  for  many  years  has 
been  the  launching  of  the  Eeform  scheme,  giving  enlarged 
representation  of  the  people  on  the  Legislative  Councils 
and  other  bodies.  On  no  community  has  the  effect  of 
this  been  more  marked  than  on  that  of  Islam.  These  ex- 
tended privileges  may,  to  an  extent  little  anticipated,  de- 
termine the  whole  future  of  Mohammedanism. 

The  Mohammedans  were  not  that  part  of  the  popula- 
tion of  India  which  seriously  manifested  discontent  with 
the  old  order,  but  they  were  among  the  first  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  new  situation,  and  to  turn  it  to  account  in 
their  own  interests.  They  have  long  had  what  they  re- 
gard as  grievances  against  the  British  government. 
They  have  imagined  that  discrimination  against  their 
creed  has  prevented  them  from  obtaining  service  in  the 
state.  They  have  stood  aloof  from  the  government  sys- 
tem of  education  because  it  affords  no  facilities  for  train- 
ing in  the  tenets  of  their  faith,  and  they  have  regarded  it 
as  tending  to  depress  their  social,  religious,  and  political 
standing.  They  resented  interference  with  the  provision 
for  the  maintenance  of  their  religious  and  educational  in- 
stitutions from  public  funds,  and  complained  of  the  legal 


144  Islam  and  Missions 

administration  which  deprived  certain  of  their  social 
functions  and  religious  duties  of  the  support  of  public 
law.  Nor  were  there  lacking  at  places  and  at  times,  a 
spirit  of  unrest  such  as  to  lead  men  of  Dr.  Hunter's 
knowledge  and  political  insight  to  write  less  than  forty 
.years  ago,  u  The  Mussulmans  of  India  are  and  have  been 
la  source  of  chronic  danger  to  the  British  power  in  India. " 
But  it  was  only  after  the  great  political  opportunities  of 
recent  years  came  into  view  that  they  began  to  organize 
with  a  view  to  influence  the  government  of  the  country. 
Those  especially  who  have  availed  themselves  of  the  ed- 
ucational facilities  provided  by  the  state  have  caught 
the  new  spirit  stirring  throughout  the  East,  and  feel  the 
stimulus  of  the  political  awakening. 

The  prospect  of  the  government  acceding  to  the  de- 
mands of  the  Hindus  for  a  larger  share  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  affairs  of  their  country  stimulated  the  Mo- 
hammedans to  take  united  action  in  the  interests  of  their 
community.  When  the  proposals  for  extended  represen- 
tation were  laid  before  the  country,  seizing  the  oppor- 
tunity they  took  steps,  as  they  say,  "to  make  permanent 
arrangements  for  the  protection  of  the  rights  and  privi- 
leges of  the  Mohammedans  of  India." 

In  1906  a  widely  representative  deputation  presented 
Hbo  the  Viceroy  what  they  regarded  as  the  claims  of  the 
sixty-two  millions  of  Indian  Mohammedans  to  special 
recognition  as  entitled  by  number  and  prestige  to  elect 
their  own  representatives,  and  that  too  in  larger  propor- 
tion to  their  numbers  than  was  allowed  to  the  Hindus. 
In  his  reply  the  Viceroy  is  reported  to  have  said,  "  You 
justly  claim  that  your  position  should  be  estimated  not 
merely  on  your  numerical  strength,  but  in  respect  to  the 
political  importance  of  your  community,  and  the  service 
it  has  rendered  to  the  Emperor.  I  am  entirely  in  accord 
with  you." 


The  Situation  in  India  145" 

Encouraged  by  this  reception  they  took  further  steps 
to  give  effect  to  their  sentiments  and  purposes  by  defi- 
nitely organizing  for  political  action.  In  1908  an  associ- 
ation called  the  "  All  India  Moslem  League  "  was  formed 
as  an  agency  by  which  their  whole  community  in  India 
might  bring  its  views  or  wishes  or  grievances  to  the  no- 
tice of  the  government.  At  the  same  time  a  branch  was 
established  in  London  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  the 
leaders  of  Mohammedan  interests  into  closer  touch  with  I 
the  imperial  government.  Through  District  and  Provin- 
cial Leagues,  and  the  Central  Association  it  is  now  pos- 
sible for  the  entire  Mohammedan  population  to  take 
corporate  action  in  any  matter  they  may  regard  as  affect- 
ing their  interests. 

Not  professing  to  be  a  religious  association,  all  the  sects 
holding  in  common  the  basal  tenet  of  one  God,  with  Mo- 
hammed as  His  prophet,  and  the  Koran  as  God's  inspired 
word  are  invited  to  sink  their  differences  and  combine 
for  common  ends.  The  association  has  defined  its  object 
to  be  the  "  steady  pursuit  of  administrative  reform  and 
the  due  satisfaction  of  the  natural  ambitions  of  Indians 
educated  under  a  liberal  system."  It  has  already  in 
several  matters,  social,  educational  and  political,  brought 
pressure  to  bear  on  the  government  to  secure  its  own 
ends.  The  claim  is  made  and  reiterated  that  Moham- 
medans have  special  rights.  It  is  maintained  that  while 
Queen  Victoria's  Proclamation  gave  rights  that  are  com- 
mon to  all  classes,  irrespective  of  caste,  colour  or  creed, 
the  "  right  that  Mussulmans  should  be  given  high  offices 
according  to  their  numerical  strength  and  political  im- 
portance belongs  particularly  to  Mohammedans."  It  is 
insisted  that  they  have  distinct  rights  which  the  govern- 
ment is  bound  to  recognize. 

One  can  see  in  all  this  a  concentration  of  political  force 
that  the  rulers  will  be  unable  to  ignore.  There  has  thus 


146  Islam  and  Missions 

been  developed  in  this  community  a  remarkable  self-con- 
sciousness of  power,  a  racial  enthusiasm,  and  a  unifica- 
tion of  effort  to  secure  the  objects  of  its  aspiration. 

Through  the  favour  of  .the  home  government,  and  as 
the  result  of  the  elections  for  the  new  councils,  in  sepa- 
rate electorates  and  other,  the  Mohammedans  are  now 
largely  represented  on  the  governing  councils  of  the 
empire.  The  government  has  definitely  recognized  their 
claim  to  be  a  distinct  factor  in  the  Indian  Empire.  They 
have  undoubtedly  learned  their  strength,  and  realized 
the  power  of  combination,  and  felt  the  thrill  of  a  great 
national  movement. 

How  will  they  use  this  power  ?  Will  it  be  in  seeking 
the  general  welfare,  or  in  promoting  their  own  special 
interests  and  aims  ?  Will  they  prove  loyal  to  the  em- 
pire, to  its  place  and  power  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  or  will  they  subordinate  patriotism  to  the  faith  ? 

There  are  many  who  doubt  the  loyalty  of  the  Moham- 
medan people  as  a  whole.  They  point  to  the  teaching  of 
the  Koran  regarding  the  obligation  of  the  faithful  to 
throw  off  the  yoke  of  the  infidel,  to  the  conspiracies  of 
the  Wahabis  in  Bengal,  and  the  wide-spread  sympathy 
they  evoked,  and  to  the  rebellious  outbreaks  on  the 
northwest  frontier.  They  remind  us  of  the  part  they 
played  in  the  terrible  mutiny,  when  they  pressed  to  the 
front  and  through  rivers  of  blood  made  a  furious  dash  to 
seize  the  standard  of  empire.  We  are  told  of  the  resent- 
ment they  must  feel  at  the  loss  of  dominant  power  and 
political  rule,  and  of  wounded  pride  by  reason  of  subjec- 
tion to  victors  of  an  alien  faith  and  religion,  and  it  is  af- 
firmed that  their  loyalty  is  merely  a  matter  of  self-in- 
terest. 

It  may  be  so  ;  but  in  the  years  of  the  passing  genera- 
tion they  have  been  reestablishing  themselves  in  the  con- 
fidence of  their  rulers  who  have  given  a  welcome  to  their 


The  Situation  in  India  147 

disposition  to  identify  their  interest  with  those  of  the 
British  government.  In  1872  Sir  Sayed  Ahmed,  the  in- 
fluence of  whose  life  and  teaching  is  becoming  more  and 
more  ascendant  in  Moslem  thought  in  India,  published 
a  series  of  letters  to  show  that  under  British  rule, 
which  permits  freedom  in  religious  matters,  the  duty  of 
waging  religious  war  does  not  hold.  Not  only  did  the 
Mohammedans  as  a  class  observe  a  " correct'7  attitude  dur- 
ing the  ebullition  of  discontent  and  unrest,  developing  in 
places  into  anarchism,  but  the  Anjumans  or  Associations 
in  all  parts  of  India  have  declared  their  loyalty  to  the 
British  Crown.  Whether  the  Hindus  are  right  in  accu- 
sing the  government  of  adopting  a  policy  towards  Mo- 
hammedans fitted  to  gain  their  attachment  at  the  expense 
of  Indian  nationality,  is  a  question  for  politicians ;  the 
fact  is  that  so  far  as  protestations  go,  there  is  no  lack 
of  loyalty  to  the  British  Eaj. 

Whatever  opinion  may  exist  among  the  ignorant 
masses  that  the  British  government  is  bent  on  making 
the  people  of  India  converts  to  Christianity,  all  intelli- 
gent Mohammedans  are  satisfied  that  the  government 
of  India  entertains  no  such  purpose.  It  was  hardly 
necessary  for  Lord  Curzon,  in  replying  to  an  address 
from  the  students  of  Aligarh  College,  to  say,  "Adhere  to 
your  own  religion. "  The  government  cannot  be  accused 
of  doing  anything  to  awaken  suspicions  that  it  desires  to 
displace  their  faith  by  Christianity.  The  fact  that  so 
many  Mohammedans  are  now  actively  associated  in  the 
administration  ought  to  do  much  to  make  the  devout 
Moslem  loyal  to  the  established  rule,  even  though  it  has 
depcded  his  religion  to  a  place  of  equality  with  the  other 
religions  of  the  land. 

And  yet  we  must  remember  that  in  Islam  religion  and 
politics  are  so  closely  interwoven  that  all  accession  of  po- 
litical power  and  influence  will  assuredly  lead  to  a  de- 


148  Islam  and  Missions 

velopment  of  religious  zeal,  for  religious  interests  accord- 
ing to  the  faith  must  be  dominant.  The  conviction  lies 
deep  in  the  heart  of  every  orthodox  Moslem  that  his  re- 
ligion is  true,  the  only  one  that  is  true,  and  in  the  end  is 
destined  to  prevail.  It  is  his  creed  that  where  he  rules 
he  must  use  his  power  to  propagate  his  faith.  He  is  still 
sanguine  of  the  ultimate  triumph  of  Islam.  The  Koran 
is  still  the  inspiration  of  his  faith,  and  the  interests  of  his 
religion  will  determine  the  character  of  his  politics. 

The  policy  of  partiality  to  the  Mohammedans  has  been 
the  occasion  of  great  demonstrations  of  loyalty,  it  is  true, 
yet  should  the  relations  between  the  recognized  head  of 
Mohammedanism  in  Turkey  and  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment ever  be  dangerously  strained,  or  the  interests  of  the 
faith  threatened,  their  sympathy  with  their  co-religion- 
ists may  prove  stronger  than  their  loyalty,  and  the  bonds 
that  bind  them  to  their  present  rulers  may  not  stand  the 
strain. 

However  that  may  be,  the  fact,  with  all  that  it  involves, 
confronts  us,  that  the  sixty-two  and  a  half  millions  of 
Mohammedans  in  India,  now  as  never  before,  have  a  self- 
consciousness  as  a  people  with  their  own  interests  and 
outlook,  and  are  in  a  new  position  to  make  their  will 
known  and  felt  in  the  affairs  of  the  country. 

Unless  the  influence  of  Western  culture  and  ideals  has 
done  more  than  to  create  a  demand  for  political  privileges 
and  to  awaken  aspirations  for  place  and  power  in  the 
state,  we  may  have  ground  for  viewing  the  future  with 
some  misgiving.  It  is  maintained  by  the  Moslem  that 
"  the  recent  reforms  do  not  touch  the  religion  of  Islam 
at  all." 

There  are,  however,  elements  in  the  situation  fitted  to 
encourage  the  hope  that  the  outcome  will  not  be  a  regres- 
sion to  the  tyranny  of  fanaticism,  but  a  development  of 
freedom  and  intellectual  independence  which  will  favour 


The  Situation  in  India  149 

the  growth  of  religious  toleration  and  open  the  mind  for 
the  reception  of  the  truth  which  Christianity  proffers. 

Among  these  is  the  rapidly  growing  disposition  to  take 
advantage  of  education  of  the  Western  type.  The  Moham- 
medans are  admitting  that  their  backward  condition 
politically,  as  compared  with  that  of  the  Hindus,  is  due 
mainly  to  the  fact  that  they  have  declined  to  qualify  for 
the  positions  in  the  government  service  which  fell  to  the 
lot  of  the  Hindu.  Eefusing  to  take  advantage  of  an 
education  which  did  not  embrace  instruction  in  the  Koran, 
they  found  themselves  unfit  for  any  but  the  most  subor- 
dinate positions  in  the  service  of  the  state.  They  now 
realize  that  if  they  are  to  reach  higher  grades  than  sol- 
diers or  policemen  they  must  qualify  themselves  by  means 
of  the  education  they  have  so  much  shunned. 

Though,  according  to   Islam,  the  knowledge  of  Mo- 
hammed  and  of  his  religion  is  of  first  importance,  and 
science  and  non-Moslem  literature  are  regarded  as  danger- 
ous to  the  faith,  yet  much  stress  is  now  being  laid  on  a 
reputed  saying  of  Mohammed, — "Go  forth  in  search  of  i 
learning,  even  if  you  have  to  go  as  far  as  China,"  and  ' 
there  is  a  marked  movement  in  the  more  advanced  section 
of  the  community  in  favour  of  combining  the  subjects 
of  religion  with  those  of  a  liberal  education. 

The  late  Sir  Sayed  Ahmed  was  among  the  first  to  real- 
ize that  without  education  the  Mohammedan  people 
must  lag  behind,  and  he  devoted  himself  earnestly  to  the 
work  of  stimulating  his  co-religionists  to  a  new  policy. 
At  first  he  was  suspected  and  opposed.  Agents,  it  is 
said,  were  sent  from  Constantinople  to  kill  him.  But  his 
cause  prospered,  and  his  influence  widened,  till  to-day 
the  new  Islam,  as  it  is  called,  largely  moulds  Moham- 
medan thought  and  ambition.  Some  twenty-four  years 
ago  he  wrote,  "It  is  the  interest  and  duty  of  Moham- 
medans to  devote  their  energies  to  education,  and  to  leave 


150  Islam  and  Missions 

their  political  interests  in  the  safe-keeping  of  the  govern- 
ment." Two  years  later,  in  1878,  having  obtained  assist- 
ance from  the  government  he  founded  the  Mohammedan 
college  at  Aligarh,  and  a  few  years  later  he  inaugurated 
the  annual  conference  for  the  Mohammedans  of  India.  It 
is  claimed  that  the  object  of  the  college  is  "to  reconcile 
Oriental  with  Western  literature  and  science,  and  to  make 
the  Mussulmans  of  India  worthy  and  useful  subjects  of  the 
British  Crown."  This  college  has  contributed  in  no  small 
degree  to  the  development  of  the  spirit  of  progress  now 
manifested  among  them. 

Political  successes  have  in  turn  given  a  great  stimulus 
to  this  spirit,  and  plans  for  broadening  the  basis  and 
extending  the  facilities  of  education  are  discussed  and 
advocated  in  conferences,  meetings  of  leagues,  and  in  the 
Moslem  press  throughout  the  country.  Though  the  large 
proportion  of  Mohammedan  children  are  still  taught  the 
Koran  prior  to  all  other  subjects,  in  schools  attached 
to  mosques  where  they  do  little  else  than  learn  it  by 
rote  without  any  understanding  of  its  Arabic  tongue, 
still  in  increasing  numbers,  madrasas  are  being  estab- 
lished where  education  more  in  accord  with  Western 
ideas  is  given,  and  advantage  is  more  largely  taken 
of  mission  schools  and  colleges. 

In  North  India,  increasingly,  provision  has  been  made 
for  giving  religious  instruction  to  the  lower  classes. 
The  Koran  has  been  translated  into  the  local  vernacu- 
lars, cheaply  published  and  widely  circulated.  Among 
the  higher  classes  the  desire  for  European  learning  is 
manifested  by  the  larger  numbers  in  government  and 
mission  colleges,  and  especially  in  the  Mohammedan 
college  at  Aligarh,  where  the  attendance  has  risen  from 
two  hundred  and  sixty-nine  in  1904  to  over  eight  hun- 
dred in  1910,  comprising  students  from  all  parts  of 
India  and  beyond. 


The  Situation  in  India  151 

In  this  institution  as  in  all  others  under  Mohammedan 
control,  religion  is  made  an  important  feature  in  the  course 
of  study.  The  professed  aim  is  to  combine  Western 
science  and  culture  with  Moslem  divinity  and  literature. 
Its  supporters  are  making  strenuous  efforts  to  get  it  raised 
to  the  status  of  a  university,  and  the  establishment  of 
Moslem  colleges  in  different  parts  of  India  is  also  being 
urged.  Mohammedan  leaders  want  institutions  where 
the  special  branches  of  Moslem  learning  may  be  taught 
in  the  interests  of  their  propaganda.  At  the  same  time 
emphasis  is  being  laid  on  the  necessity  of  education  along 
Western  lines.  The  diffusion  of  knowledge  is  felt  to  be 
necessary  to  regain  place  in  the  race  for  supremacy  and 
for  the  reestablishment  of  their  prestige  and  influence  in 
the  country.  They  realize  that  if  they  are  to  gain  back 
the  power  which,  with  something  of  resentment,  they 
have  seen  passing  into  the  hands  of  the  Hindus,  they 
must  devote  serious  attention  to  the  youth  of  their  com- 
munity. 

This  educational  activity  is  significant.  It  is  partly  the 
cause  and  partly  the  result  of  the  political  position  they 
have  obtained.  They  allege  that  the  administrative 
reforms  and  the  important  share  allowed  them  in  the 
government  of  the  country  have  laid  new  responsibilities 
on  them,  and  they  profess  to  feel  the  obligation  to  show 
their  fitness  therefor.  They  affirm  their  conviction  that 
political  importance  is  to  be  maintained  and  increased 
by  ascendancy  in  the  intellectual  sphere,  and  that  if  they 
are  to  have  their  desired  part  in  India's  future  they  must 
no  longer,  by  social  customs,  the  traditions  of  the  past 
and  religious  prejudices,  close  the  door  to  Western 
thought  and  influence.  In  magazines,  newspapers,  con- 
ferences and  leagues,  much  attention  is  given  to  the  sub- 
ject of  education  ;  the  need  of  providing  it  alike  for  boys 
and  girls  is  strongly  urged.  Large  gifts  and  donations 


152  Islam  and  Missions 

are  being  given  to  establish  schools  and  endow  scholar- 
ships. 

Connected  with  this  political  and  educational  activity 
is  the  project  of  making  the  Urdu  language  the  common 
vernacular  of  the  Mussulmans  of  India.  A  common 
language  would  undoubtedly  be  an  important  factor  con- 
tributing to  their  unity.  It  is  claimed  that  already  in 
Southern  India,  in  Tamil,  Telegu,  and  Canarese  districts, 
in  a  constantly  increasing  measure,  Urdu  is  becoming 
the  medium  of  instruction,  and  the  Mohammedan  people 
are  earnestly  urged  to  strive  to  make  it  the  common  lan- 
guage of  all  India.  Considerable  attention  is  being  given 
also  to  the  strengthening  and  developing  of  the  Moslem 
press.  Newspapers  and  magazines  are  being  set  up  to 
voice  the  opinion  and  advocate  the  interests  of  the 
Mohammedan  people. 

There  is  a  noticeable  activity  too  in  the  matter  of 
religious  publications.  The  "Life  of  Mohammed," 
"  Selections  from  the  Koran, "  "  Translation  of  the  Koran 
into  English,"  "  Hints  on  the  Study  of  the  Koran," 
"  Lessons  from  the  Koran,"  are  the  names  of  some  of  the 
books  now  offered  to  the  public.  Little  books  comparing 
Islam  with  Hinduism,  with  Buddhism,  and  with  Chris- 
tianity, are  also  being  issued  from  the  Moslem  press. 

The  methods  followed  in  the  missionary  enterprise  of 
the  Christian  Church  are  being  adopted  by  the  Moham- 
medan propagandists.  They  are  endeavouring  to  famil- 
iarize the  public  with  the  contents  of  their  sacred 
Scriptures  and  literature.  This  literary  movement  is 
described  by  its  promoters  as  the  "  first  Moslem  mis- 
sionary endeavour  in  the  way  of  Islamic  publications." 

Reference  may  be  made  also  to  another  feature  in  the  pro- 
gramme for  the  rehabilitation  of  this  community.  Great 
stress  is  being  laid  on  the  necessity  of  developing  the 
resources  of  the  country.  Their  leaders  recognize  the 


The  Situation  in  India  153 

lack  of  thrift  and  industry,  and  the  pride  that  despises 
trade,  handicrafts,  and  agriculture,  and  very  properly 
insist  that  the  acquisition  of  political  privileges  without 
progress  in  material  conditions  will  be  but  the  shadow 
of  power.  Provision  is  being  made  for  greatly  enlarged 
facilities  for  technical  education. 

At  Karachi  a  Mohammedan  college  is  devoted  to 
practical  science,  and  it  is  proposed  to  develop  the 
science  department  of  the  Aligarh  College  into  a  separate 
institution,  thus  further  preparing  the  way  for  raising 
the  central  college  to  the  rank  of  a  university.  Strong 
appeals  are  being  made,  and  not  without  success,  for 
funds  for  the  realization  of  these  ambitious.  Growing 
knowledge  of  the  economic  conditions  of  other  countries, 
and  of  the  secret  of  the  progress  and  prosperity  of  other 
peoples  is  bearing  fruit. 

It  is  thus  manifest  that  the  concession  of  enlarged 
political  representation  has  been  the  occasion,  at  least,  of 
a  very  marked  awakening  of  the  Mohammedan  community 
to  a  sense  of  their  deficiencies,  and  to  efforts  for  the  im- 
provement of  their  intellectual,  social  and  material  con- 
dition. It  need  not  surprise  us  that  they  regard  the 
extension  of  representative  institutions  as  the  dawn  of  a 
new  era  for  Islam.  Solidarity,  education,  cooperation, 
and  special  rights  are  its  watchwords,  and  visions  of  a 
reinvigorated  Islam  stimulate  its  people  to  seize  the 
advantages  which  the  new  movements  have  brought 
within  their  grasp. 

What  will  be  the  bearing  of  all  this  on  Christian  mis- 
sions? Our  deeper  interest  in  the  ferment  of  thought 
and  fresh  activity  lies  here.  Will  our  work  of  evangeliz- 
ing be  facilitated  or  retarded  ?  The  grounds  for  a  definite 
answer  are  not  yet  clearly  discernible.  The  fruits  of  the 
new  life  now  stirring  are  not  yet  developed.  Tendencies, 
ideals,  and  aims  must  be  realized  in  facts  and  correlated 


154  Islam  and  Missions 

before  the  outlook  for  Christian  missions  can  be  definitely 
and  confidently  represented. 

It  need  not  surprise  us  nor  too  much  disappoint  us,  if 
for  a  time  we  find  the  Mohammedan  people  irresponsive 
even  more  than  before  to  our  efforts.  The  interest  of  the 
new  political  and  intellectual  life,  the  vision  of  a  regener- 
ated Islam,  the  hope  of  recovering  lost  ground,  of  regain- 
ing prestige  and  power,  and  of  the  coming  of  a  new  era 
of  racial  greatness,  may  so  absorb  and  elate  their  minds 
that  there  will  be  little  room  for  thoughts  of  the  claims 
of  Christ  and  less  welcome  for  them. 

The  new  sense  of  their  importance  as  a  factor  in  the 
government  of  the  country,  of  their  solidarity  as  a  people, 
and  of  their  political  power,  may  have  as  one  of  its  more 
immediate  results  a  more  dominant  idea  of  self -sufficiency, 
a  revival  in  the  religion  of  the  prophet,  and  a  glorying 
in  the  traditions  of  the  past.  Already  one  can  recognize 
a  note  of  elation  in  the  voices  that  call  from  platform 
or  press  to  the  people  to  look  back  to  the  glory  of  a 
conquering  faith  in  the  past,  or  on  to  the  goal  of  power 
and  prestige  won  back,  and  to  press  forward  in  the  race 
for  the  prizes  the  times  have  to  offer.  We  may  expect  for 
a  time  at  least  a  period  of  indifference,  but  it  will  prove, 
we  may  well  believe,  a  time  of  transition,  and  more 
worthy  results  of  the  new  movements  will  declare  them- 
selves. 

The  diffusion  of  knowledge  will  remove  inveterate  prej- 
udices against  the  Christian  religion,  and  destroy  the 
absurd  conceptions  of  Christian  doctrine  that  close  the 
hearts  of  millions  to  the  gospel  message.  Belief  that  the 
true  Gospel  has  been  taken  back  to  heaven,  or  abrogated 
by  the  Koran,  that  the  Father,  Mary,  and  Jesus  con- 
stitute the  trinity,  and  that  after  the  manner  of  human 
generation  Jesus  is  Son  of  God — these  and  such  like 
beliefs,  due  to  crassest  ignorance,  will  disappear  in  the 


The  Situation  in  India  155 

increasing  light,  and  the  Mohammedan  will  approach  the 
Bible  in  a  new  spirit  and  receive  it  as  a  u  light  and 
revelation  from  God."  Sir  Sayed  Ahmed,  to  whom  the 
new  movement  is  so  largely  due,  placed  the  Bible  and  the 
Koran  "upon  the  same  footing  as  equally  inspired,  and 
equally  binding  upon  Moslems. ' J  He  wrote  a  commentary 
on  portions  of  the  Bible,  and  declared  his  faith  in  it,  de- 
feuding  himself  by  contending  that  all  he  "professed  in 
favour  of  the  Bible  was  grounded  on  the  holy  Koran  it- 
self.' > 

When  this  attitude  shall  have  become  general  the 
Mohammedan  controversy  will  be  lifted  to  a  higher 
plane.  Let  the  Bible  be  received  as  true,  and  it  will  be 
hard  indeed  to  show  that  the  Koran  is  true  also.  The 
growth  of  a  critical  spirit,  knowledge  of  the  laws  of 
thought  and  evidence,  must  lead  to  a  questioning  of  the 
foundations  of  the  faith  that  the  Koran  is  the  uncreated 
word  of  God  sent  down  to  the  lowest  heaven  and  revealed 
piecemeal  by  the  angel  Gabriel. 

Though  he  may  not  realize  it,  the  liberal  education  the 
Moslem  is  now  advocating  will  reveal  the  fallacious 
grounds  of  his  cherished  beliefs.  The  fears  of  the 
orthodox  that  secular  learning  will  destroy  the  faith  are 
not  without  grounds.  The  impartial  study  of  history 
will  reveal  the  true  origin  and  sources  of  the  Koran,  and 
show  how  worthless  the  traditions  are  as  an  authoritative 
guide  for  the  duties  of  life.  The  reason,  trained  to  habits 
of  investigation  in  science  and  history,  will  refuse  blindly 
to  accept  traditional  dogmas. 

In  minds  that  give  a  welcome  to  the  best  thought  of 
the  West  there  will  be  created  new  ideals  of  intellectual 
and  spiritual  freedom,  higher  standards  of  morality, 
worthier  conceptions  of  God  as  a  moral  being,  and  of  the 
demands  of  His  moral  law.  Ends  of  life  will  be  revealed 
for  the  realization  of  which  Mohammedanism  supplies  no 


156  Islam  and  Missions 

power,  and  a  heart  hunger  will  be  felt  which  it  will  be 
unable  to  satisfy.  In  the  light  of  the  high  ethical  stand- 
ards of  Christianity  will  be  seen  the  futility  of  the  laws 
of  Mohammed  to  restrain  the  evils  of  society.  It  is 
significant  of  the  changing  thought  of  Islam  that  in  some 
of  its  respected  publications,  utterances  such  as  these 
may  be  found:  "  With  us  religion  has  become  a  solemn 
farce,  and  steeped  in  barren  tradition  and  practice." 
1 1  Social  corruption  behind  the  zenana  is  to  a  large  extent 
due  to  this  system. "  "JSTo  family,  no  community,  no 
nation  can  ever  prosper  unless  both  sexes  are  laid  on  a 
better,  nay,  on  an  equal  level."  "  God  as  fashioned  by 
our  co-religionists  is  an  exact  type  of  an  oriental  ruler." 
"  He  is  conceived  as  vindictive,  unmerciful,  occupied  in 
tedious  matters"  and  "  totally  uninterested  in  the  human 
race,"  except  to  punish  transgression.  The  time  spent  in 
the  study  of  the  Arabic  Koran  is  spoken  of  as  "  wasted 
years."  It  is  maintained  that  education  should  result  in 
"not  the  slavish  acceptance,  but  the  well  considered 
adoption  or  rejection  of  views,  principles  and  beliefs." 
Leaders  of  Mohammedan  thought  are  now  giving  ex- 
pression to  the  opinion  that  Mohammed  was  only  a  spirit- 
ual teacher,  not  a  legislator,  and  the  Koran  is  a  "  spiritual 
guide  containing  counsels  and  ideals  for  the  faithful," 
not  a  body  of  law.  True,  these  may  be  as  yet  the  senti- 
ments of  comparatively  few,  but  they  are  an  indication 
that  the  leavening  process  has  begun. 

While  we  do  not  look  to  science,  or  philosophy,  or 
history,  or  politics  for  the  moral  reformation  of  a  people, 
we  are  j  ustified  in  expecting  that  they  will  go  far  to  destroy 
religious  and  racial  prejudices,  and  to  awaken  an  appre- 
ciation of  the  virtues  of  sincerity,  truth,  goodness,  and  jus- 
tice, and  to  predispose  the  mind  to  welcome  fresh  light. 

Without  doubt,  Western  education  as  a  disintegrating 
force  has  begun  to  act  on  Indian  Islamism.  A  liberaliz- 


The  Situation  in  India  157 

ing  process  has  begun.  Among  the  educated,  the  arro- 
gant religious  conceit  and  contemptuous  pride  of  fancied 
religious  superiority,  so  characteristic  of  ignorant  Mo- 
hammedans, are  giving  place  to  a  more  tolerant  atti- 
tude to  the  Christian  faith,  and  a  higher  appreciation  of 
its  doctrine  of  God.  The  revelation  of  His  character  as 
given  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  begun  to  displace  the 
conception  of  Him  which  the  Koran  gives. 

In  India  contact  with  a  Christianity  more  true  to  the 
Scriptures  than  that  which  Mohammedanism  has  met  in 
most  Asiatic  lands  has  already  done  much  in  the  thought 
of  educated  Moslems  to  substitute  for  the  Allah  of  the 
Koran  the  heavenly  Father  of  the  Gospels.  The  teaching 
of  the  Koran  regarding  God  and  duty  will  be  more  and 
more  subjected  to  the  scrutiny  of  reason  and  the  tests  of 
historical  investigation.  When  the  inspiration  of  the 
Koran  and  the  apostleship  of  Mohammed  begin  to  be 
questioned,  and  inquiries  as  to  the  nature  of  God  are 
earnestly  pursued,  the  beginning  of  the  end  of  Islam  will 
have  come. 

The  more  the  right  of  private  judgment  is  exercised  the 
more  will  faith  in  the  Koran  and  in  what  it  stands  for  be 
shaken.  The  cry  for  a  regenerated  Islam  is  a  response  to 
influences  from  the  West,  and  among  the  most  powerful 
of  these  are  the  moral  and  spiritual  forces  the  Christ  has 
brought  into  the  world,  and  they  cannot  fail  sooner  or 
later  to  lead  to  a  reconstruction  of  religious  thought  in 
Islam,  and  to  the  opening  of  its  heart  to  His  claims. 

In  the  time  of  transition  faith  may  give  place  to  relig- 
ious indifference.  It  therefore  behooves  the  Christian 
Church  to  put  forth  special  effort  to  keep  the  claims, 
merits  and  offers  of  Christ  before  the  minds  of  those 
who  are  turning  away  from  their  old  dead  beliefs  that 
they  may  find  in  Him  the  eternal  Life  He  came  to  bestow. 
When  the  Christian  Scriptures  are  allowed  to  speak  their 


158  Islam  and  Missions 

message  to  the  Moslem  heart  we  know  what  the  result 
must  be.  Politics,  economic  problems,  social  and  mate- 
rial prosperity,  may  for  a  time  absorb  the  attention  of  the 
awakening  people,  but  earnest  minds  cannot  rest  finally 
in  these  things,  and  we  may  with  utmost  confidence  hold 
up  to  their  view  the  once  crucified  but  now  exalted 
Saviour,  and  He  will  draw  them  to  Himself. 


XI 

THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW  E^GTME  IN  TURKEY 
REV.  S.  V.  R.  TROWBRIDGE,  TURKEY 

THE  attitude  of  the  Turkish  government  towards 
the  pioneer  missionaries  who  came  from  Amer- 
ica in  1820  and  the  following  decade  was  not 
uniform.  Usually  the  officials  ignored  the  newcomers 
as  of  no  political  consequence.  Occasionally  suspicions 
were  aroused  and  interference  resulted.  In  1824  Mr. 
Bird  was  arrested  in  Jerusalem  on  the  charge  of  distribu- 
ting books  which  were  "neither  Jewish,  Moslem  nor 
Christian.'7  But  he  was  shortly  released.  And  even 
during  the  disturbances  which  were  caused  by  the  war 
with  Greece  the  provincial  officials  afforded  protection 
and  freedom  of  passage  for  the  missionaries  in  their  ex- 
tensive pioneer  journeys. 

In  1834  Dr.  Goodell  recorded  that  it  was  gratifying  to 
see  the  respect  shown  by  high  Turkish  officials  for 
American  citizens.  Their  rights  of  residence  and  travel, 
however,  were  no  more  than  were  granted  by  various 
treaty  agreements  to  Europeans. 

When  the  mission  work  began  to  exert  a  wider  in- 
fluence, in  the  decade  1840-1850,  there  were  repeated 
efforts  to  remove  the  missionaries  from  the  country.  The 
American  minister,  however,  declined  to  take  any  such 
action  and  the  attention  of  the  Sublime  Porte  was  turned 
to  other  matters. 

The  missionaries  as  foreign  citizens  were  thus  afforded 

159 


160  Islam  and  Missions 

certain  rights  by  treaty  ' '  capitulations. ' '  Although  orig- 
inally instituted  by  the  Ottoman  government  for  conve- 
nience in  dealing  with  the  rights  of  foreigners  whose 
presence  in  the  country  was  desired,  these  u  capitula- 
tions "  have  in  recent  years  become  very  distasteful  to  the 
Turks.  There  is  a  popular  but  mistaken  idea  that  the 
"  capitulations  "  have  been  forced  upon  the  Turks  by 
superior  European  authority.  Undoubtedly  from  the 
Mohammedan  point  of  view  they  are  a  reproach.  They 
provide  for  residence  and  travel  of  foreigners,  freedom  in 
religious  customs,  inviolability  of  foreign  dwellings  and 
certain  other  privileges  relative  to  arrest  and  punishment 
of  foreigners. 

But  while  the  missionaries  were  thus  to  some  extent 
free  from  the  oppressive  and  arbitrary  acts  of  Turkish 
officials,  the  inquirers  and  converts  who  gathered  around 
them  were  subject  to  arrest,  imprisonment  and  exile. 
From  the  beginning  the  chief  activity  of  the  missionaries 
was  among  the  Greeks  and  Armenians.  In  1846  a  severe 
persecution  of  the  newly  formed  community  of  evangelical 
Armenians  was  carried  on  by  the  Gregorian  Patriarch. 
Turkish  judges  and  police  officers  joined  in  giving  effect 
to  the  Patriarch's  orders.  This  persecution  was  finally 
checked  by  the  interference  of  Sir  Stratford  Canning, 
the  British  ambassador.  In  1850  the  efforts  of  the 
ambassador  culminated  in  the  granting  of  an  Imperial 
Firman  recognizing  the  Protestant  community  as  inde- 
pendent of  the  ancient  Gregorian  Church  and  giving  it 
the  same  rights  as  had  been  accorded  to  the  other  Oriental 
churches. 

At  the  same  time  Sir  Stratford  (afterwards  Lord  Strat- 
ford de  Eedcliffe)  was  exerting  his  whole  strength  to 
secure  the  annulment  of  the  law  inflicting  death  upon 
apostates  from  Islam.  In  1843  an  Armenian  young  man 
had  been  cruelly  executed  in  the  streets  of  Stamboul  be- 


The  Old  and  New  Regime  in  Turkey      161 

cause  after  having  embraced  Islam  he  had  denied  the 
Mohammedan  faith.  The  immediate  result  of  the  am- 
bassador's efforts  was  a  written  pledge  from  Sultan  Abd  ul 
Mejid  that  such  an  execution  should  not  again  take  place. 

But  it  was  not  until  1856,  after  the  Crimean  war,  that 
Sultan  Abd  ul  Mejid  issued  the  Hatti  Humayoun  or 
Imperial  Edict.  One  of  the  articles  reads :  "  As  all  forms 
of  religion  are  and  shall  be  freely  professed  in  my  domin- 
ions, no  subject  of  my  empire  shall  be  hindered  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  the  religion  that  he  professes,  nor  shall  be  in  any 
way  annoyed  on  this  account.  No  one  shall  be  compelled 
to  change  his  religion." 

It  is  very  evident  that  this  edict  became  known  through- 
out the  provinces  and  that  it  began  at  once  to  affect  the 
work  of  the  missionaries.  Moslems  felt  themselves  free 
to  associate  with  missionaries  and  even  to  confess  Christ. 
In  1857  Dr.  Hamlin  reported  a  family  converted  from 
Islam  officially  examined  by  the  police  and  justified  in 
their  change  of  faith  on  the  ground  that  no  compulsion 
had  been  used.  Mr.  D wight  reported  in  1859  that  the 
governors  at  Sivas,  Diarbekr  and  Csesarea  declared  that 
Moslems  who  had  become  Christians  should  not  be 
molested.  In  Constantinople  Selim  Effendi,  a  convert, 
became  an  evangelist  and  was  permitted  to  gather  around 
him  a  company  of  Turks  who  were  inquirers. 

But,  perhaps  as  a  result  of  the  importation  and  circula- 
tion of  Dr.  Pfander's  controversial  writings,  notably  the 
"  Mizan  ul  Hakk,"  there  occurred  in  1864  a  reactionary 
movement  which  started  in  the  government  and  spread 
among  the  people.  The  Turkish  converts  were  arrested. 
What  eventually  became  of  them  is  not  known.  The 
mission  presses  and  bookstores  were  temporarily  closed 
by  the  police.  And  it  was  clearly  understood  by  Moham- 
medans throughout  the  country  that  to  forsake  Islam  was 
regarded  by  the  government  as  a  civil  offense.  This 


162  Islam  and  Missions 

attitude  has  not  been  changed.  Even  the  revolution  of 
July,  1908,  has  scarcely  modified  it. 

The  political  revolution  of  1908  proclaimed  a  constitu- 
tion guaranteeing  equal  rights  for  all  subjects,  inviola- 
bility of  the  person,  authority  of  law  over  caprice  of  offi- 
cials, freedom  of  the  press,  liberty  of  public  meeting  and 
freedom  from  espionage,  bribery  and  torture.  Liberty 
of  conscience  is  implied  in  very  guarded  terms,  but  Islam 
is  declared  the  established  state  religion  and  adherence 
to  the  usages  and  traditions  of  religion  is  demanded. 
The  tenth  article  of  the  Constitution  reads  :  "  Individual 
liberty  is  inviolable.  Except  according  to  the  forms  and 
for  the  causes  determined  by  the  canon  law  of  Islam,  and 
by  the  civil  code,  no  one  can  be  arrested  or  suffer  penalty, 
upon  any  pretext  whatsoever. " 

It  must  also  be  remembered  that  while  a  minority  of 
progressive  Turks  are  striving  to  carry  out  the  guarantees 
of  the  Constitution,  the  millions  of  illiterate  peasants, 
all  the  eastern  divisions  of  the  army,  as  well  as  the  rich 
landowners  and  pashas  are  at  heart  reactionary.  They 
instinctively  oppose  nearly  everything  that  Christian 
missions  stand  for. 

Throughout  the  eighty  years  of  mission  activity  in 
Turkey  a  considerable  degree  of  toleration  has  been  shown 
to  the  missionaries  themselves;  but  churches,  colleges 
and  schools  have  been  hindered  and  oppressed  in  every 
conceivable  manner.  Permission  for  new  buildings,  im- 
provements of  property,  acquirement  of  title-deeds  and 
privileges  of  travel  have  often  been  refused.  The  method 
has  been  procrastination  and  the  placing  of  innumerable 
obstacles  in  the  path.  Young  men's  associations  have 
been  forbidden,  and  the  censorship  of  the  press  has  been 
most  severe  and  capricious.  Espionage,  the  imposition 
of  illegal  taxes,  extensive  and  shameless  bribery  of  officials 
and  imprisonment  without  trial  have  been  some  of  the 


The  Old  and  New  Regime  in  Turkey      163 

methods  employed  against  Christian  missions.  While 
religious  toleration  has  been  repeatedly  proclaimed, 
annoyance  and  forcible  interference  have  been  constantly 
taking  place. 

It  cannot  be  said  that  the  massacres  have  been  em- 
ployed by  the  government  directly  against  Christian 
missions.  The  various  massacres,  of  the  Greeks  in  1822, 
of  the  Syrians  of  Damascus  and  the  Lebanon  in  1860, 
of  the  Bulgarians  in  1876,  and  of  the  Armenians  in  1895, 
1896  and  1909,  have  scourged  the  whole  country  and 
have  profoundly  affected  mission  work.  These  massa- 
cres have  been  with  the  consent  and  instigation  of  the 
government.  But  they  have  been  directed  against  cer- 
tain subject  Christian  peoples  rather  than  against  any 
organized  mission  work.  The  mission  compounds  have 
usually  been  the  sole  places  of  refuge.  And  with  few 
exceptions  the  local  government  has  instructed  troops 
and  officials  to  safeguard  mission  institutions  against 
plunder  and  attack.  In  these  dreadful  events  the  Ar- 
menians have  been  the  heaviest  sufferers.  We  turn 
now  to  consider  present  conditions. 

The  attitude  of  the  government  has  at  no  time  been 
officially  defined.  Nor  can  it  be  fairly  judged  by  un- 
official interviews  such  as  have  recently  been  granted 
to  foreign  travellers.  The  magnanimous  generalizations 
uttered  by  the  Sheikh  ul  Islam  and  by  members  of 
the  Cabinet  are  intended  more  for  publication  in  the 
foreign  press  than  for  the  actual  administration  of  in- 
terior provinces.  Compare,  for  example,  the  eloquent 
declarations  of  justice  and  mercy  in  the  promises  for 
Macedonian  reforms  with  the  awful  massacre  perpe- 
trated by  the  government  at  Ourfa  in  1895.  The  real 
attitude  of  the  government  must  be  learned  by  patient 
observation  and  by  personal  experience.  Therefore 
we  attach  more  weight  to  the  evidence  given  by  rep- 


164  Islam  and  Missions 

resentative  missionaries  than  to  the  statements  made 
by  officials. 

In  considering  our  subject  one  general  distinction  must 
be  observed.  Evangelical  and  educational  work  among 
the  Oriental  churches  is  looked  upon  by  the  government 
as  natural  enough.  Prior  to  the  Protestant  movement 
the  Eoman  Catholic  missions  had  been  recognized  as 
establishing  a  separate  Christian  sect.  There  was  thus  a 
kind  of  precedent  for  permitting  the  formation  of  an 
evangelical  church.  But  wherever  the  preaching  has 
attracted  Mohammedans  the  government  has  resorted  to 
various  schemes  for  the  exile  or  punishment  of  the  con- 
verts. And  even  to-day  the  government  would  not 
tolerate  any  organized  movement  for  openly  teaching 
the  New  Testament  to  Moslems. 

In  the  villages  there  is  practically  no  government.  I 
may  say  in  passing  that  it  is  for  this  very  reason  I 
believe  that  gospel  work  may  be  done  more  freely  in  the 
villages  than  in  the  cities. 

The  collections  of  taxes  by  the  central  government 
resemble  depredations  from  outside.  And  in  general  the 
villages  are  governed  by  local  customs,  by  the  will  of  the 
chief  (who  is  often  a  hospitable  old  man)  and  by  the  ex- 
hortations of  the  mulla  who  is  usually  respectful  and 
courteous  to  educated  visitors.  If  any  difficulty  arises, 
it  is  likely  to  be  from  the  mulla  who  may  imagine  that 
his  rights  are  being  assailed.  But  the  government  very 
largely  ignores  what  is  going  on  among  the  peasant 
population. 

Another  distinction  to  be  kept  in  mind  is  in  the  atti- 
tude of  the  government  towards  European  and  American 
missionaries.  Whereas  European  missions,  such  as  those 
of  the  Jesuits,  have  secured  more  privileges  and  im- 
munities through  diplomatic  interference,  the  Americans 
are  recognized  as  coming  from  a  distant  country  which 


The  Old  and  New  Regime  in  Turkey      165 

has  no  political  ambition  in  Western  Asia.  The  Ameri- 
cans have  advanced  medical  work  in  nearly  every  im- 
portant centre,  so  that  the  natural  suspicions  of  govern- 
ment officials  have  been  in  part  dispelled  and  the  real 
spirit  of  missions  has  been  better  understood. 

Still  another  distinction  must  be  made,  to  gain  a  fair 
view  of  the  situation.  The  government  is  obliged  to 
allow  the  missionaries  a  very  large  degree  of  freedom, 
whereas  native  Christian  workers  are  strictly  prevented 
from  entering  any  work  which  lies  beyond  the  traditional 
boundaries  of  the  Eastern  churches.  A  great  many 
missionaries  expect  the  Armenians  to  begin  the  evangeli- 
zation of  the  Moslems.  This  reminds  one  of  a  chemistry 
professor  at  college  who  informed  his  students  one 
morning,  taking  care  to  stand  off  at  a  safe  distance, 
"Gentlemen,  my  assistant  will  now  perform  a  very 
dangerous  experiment ! " 

Probably  the  best  way  to  study  the  present  attitude  of 
the  government  is  to  observe  the  various  branches  of 
mission  work  and  to  cite  cases  which  illustrate  the  degree 
of  liberty  attained  thus  far. 

( 1)  Educational  Work.    Mohammedan  students  are  now 
permitted  to  enter  mission  schools  and  colleges.     In  the 
Syrian  Protestant  College  at  Beirut  there  are  now  one 
hundred  and    four    Moslem    students,   and    at  Eobert 
College  in  Constantinople  there  are  about  fifty.     But  in 
the  case  of  these  two  colleges  tacit  permission  has  existed 
for  some  years  past.     In  the  Gedik  Pasha  mission  school 
in  Constantinople  there  are  eighty  children  from  Moham- 
medan families. 

(2)  Literary  Work.    The  missionaries  in  Turkey  would 
urge  very  strongly  that  controversial  methods  be  avoided. 
It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  present  government  would 
not  tolerate  any  such  controversy  as  Dr.  Pfander  once 
engaged  in. 


166  Islam  and  Missions 

Much  public  interest  has  centred  around  the  transla- 
tion into  Turkish  of  Professor  Dozy7s  "  History  of  Islam." 
This  work  was  done  by  a  Moslem  and  is  not  mission 
work.  Yet  I  cite  it  as  illustrating  the  attitude  of  the 
government  towards  critical  religious  literature.  The 
Cabinet  and  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  united  in  con- 
demning the  publication,  so  the  book  remains  under  an 
official  ban.  Nevertheless  the  reading  public  has  become 
aware  of  its  "  radical  theories77  by  the  lengthy  and 
fervent  rebuttals  published  in  leading  Mohammedan 
weeklies. 

Awetaraniau7s  translation  of  "  Pilgrim7s  Progress 77  into 
Turkish,  Herrick7s  booklets,  "The  Dawn  of  Liberty,77 
"The  Greatest  Force  in  the  Moral  World,77  "  Universal 
Brotherhood  and  the  Founder  of  Christianity,77  as  well 
as  Krikorian7s  tract,  "Points  of  Similitude  Between 
Islam  and  Christianity,7*  are  permitted  to  circulate  freely. 

The  sale  and  distribution  of  the  Bible  is  very  extensive 
in  Turkey.  It  is  one  of  the  strongest  and  surest  methods 
of  making  known  the  Gospel.  The  printing  of  the 
Scriptures  has  long  been  permitted  by  the  government. 
But  the  work  of  colporteurs  was  made  indescribably 
difficult,  until  the  Constitution  two  and  a  half  years  ago 
gave  freedom  of  travel.  Dr.  Bowen  of  the  American 
Bible  Society  stated  recently  that  Bible  colportage  has 
become  absolutely  free.  About  9,000  New  Testaments 
and  Bibles  were  sold  to  Mohammedans  last  year  and 
124, 000  to  Christians.  It  is  a  striking  fact  that  since  the 
massacre  hundreds  of  New  Testaments  have  been  sold  to 
Moslems  in  the  market  places  of  Adana  and  Tarsus. 

(3)  Medical  and  Relief  Work.  These  two  branches  of 
mission  work  have  had  an  extraordinary  development  in 
Turkey.  The  government  has  usually  treated  the  medical 
work  with  favour,  but  in  the  past  has  disliked  and  at- 
tempted to  block  the  relief  work  which  has  been  chiefly 


The  Old  and  New  Regime  in  Turkey      167 

for  the  Armenians.  After  the  Adana  massacre,  however, 
the  new  government  formed  a  central  relief  committee 
which  was  under  the  patronage  of  the  new  Sultan  and  in- 
cluded members  of  both  houses  of  the  Ottoman  Parlia- 
ment. Mr.  W.  W.  Peet,  mission  treasurer  at  Constan- 
tinople, was  appointed  president  of  the  committee  having 
charge  of  the  distribution  of  the  relief  funds.  Mr.  W.  N. 
Chambers,  Dr.  F.  D.  Shepard  and  six.  other  missionaries 
were  among  the  responsible  agents  on  the  field  in  the 
actual  distribution  and  reconstruction.  Dr.  Shepard 
has  been  decorated  by  the  present  Sultan  for  his  services. 

Eeligious  work  for  all  the  peoples  of  Turkey  is  carried 
on  in  the  mission  hospitals  without  any  hindrance  from 
the  government.  Hymns  are  sung,  passages  of  Scripture 
learned  by  heart,  and  prayer  is  offered.  Preaching  serv- 
ices are  also  held  and  copies  of  the  New  Testament  are 
often  given  to  inquirers.  With  all  this  activity  of  Chris- 
tian work  among  the  thousands  of  patients,  nearly  half  of 
whom  are  Moslems,  the  government  gives  free  scope  to  the 
hospitals  and  officials  often  speak  in  appreciative  terms. 
Since  the  Constitution  was  proclaimed  in  July,  1908,  the 
proportion  of  Mussulman  patients  has  considerably  in- 
creased. 

(4)  Work  Among  Women.  Since  the  establishment  of 
the  new  regime  five  Moslem  young  women  have  been  ap- 
pointed by  the  government  to  attend  the  American  Col- 
lege for  Girls  at  Constantinople,  the  object  being  to  train 
them  for  the  organization  of  government  schools  for  girls. 
In  the  provinces  Turkish  girls  have  been  received  into 
mission  schools  though  not  in  any  large  numbers  as  yet. 
Entrance  requirements  and  the  programme  of  studies  will 
need  to  be  adjusted  to  the  new  situation. 

Home  visitation  and  medical  work  in  the  harems  are 
carried  on  by  many  women  missionaries,  and  Bible  read- 
ing circles  have  been  started  by  a  few  Armenian  women 


168  Islam  and  Missions 

workers.  In  Aintab  the  embroidery  industry  carried  on 
as  a  part  of  mission  work  has  already  touched  over  two 
hundred  Mohammedan  homes.  The  girls'  boarding- 
school  at  Korcha  in  European  Turkey  had  among  the 
pupils  last  year  twenty-two  Albanian  Moslem  girls.  But 
the  government  is  very  conservative  in  most  respects  re- 
garding the  education  of  Mohammedan  women.  Noth- 
ing which  leads  them  to  attend  public  meetings  is  al- 
lowed. 

(5)  Evangelistic  Work.  So  long  as  preaching  and  per- 
sonal work  are  confined  to  Christian  communities  the 
government  makes  no  objection.  But  wherever  any 
Moslems  join  the  congregation,  and  especially  when  any 
Moslem  makes  confession  of  Christ  the  government  at 
once  interferes.  The  manner  of  interference  is  usually  to 
have  the  convert  arrested  and  held  for  trial  upon  some 
other  accusation,  or  else  to  secretly  expel  him  from  the 
city.  The  death  penalty  for  those  who  deny  Islam  has 
now  passed  from  public  execution  to  secret  methods 
which  are  scarcely  less  gruesome.  Of  course  such 
methods  are  condemned  by  the  more  intelligent  officials. 

Preaching  in  the  markets  or  in  open  squares  in  the 
cities  is  not  allowed  by  the  police,  although  an  English 
missionary  in  Antioch  was  permitted  for  many  years  to 
read  aloud  from  the  Arabic  Bible  to  the  groups  of  people 
who  gathered  around  him  in  an  open  square. 

To  look  at  these  things  from  the  Turkish  point  of  view 
we  must  remember  that  the  Ottoman  army  has  been 
hitherto  recruited  entirely  from  Moslems,  so  that  any 
Moslem  young  man  who  became  a  Christian  was  regarded 
as  a  traitor  to  the  state  in  having  tried  to  evade  military 
duty.  The  present  government  has  begun  to  enlist  Chris- 
tian soldiers  but  shows  deliberate  caution  in  carrying  out 
this  programme.  If  the  spirit  of  the  army  can  be  made 
national  rather  than  Mohammedan  a  great  step  in  ad- 


The  Old  and  New  Regime  in  Turkey      169 

vance  will  have  been  taken.  For  in  that  case  a  Mussul- 
man who  accepts  Christ  can  be  treated  simply  on  relig- 
ious grounds  and  under  the  new  Constitution  he  ought  to 
be  safe.  He  would  no  longer  be  looked  upon  as  guilty  of 
a  civil  offense.  But  that  day  has  not  yet  come. 

Who  can  say  what  the  outlook  is  in  Turkey  t  One 
night  in  April  less  than  two  years  ago  when  we  were  pass- 
ing through  the  awful  experience  of  the  Adana  massacre, 
with  all  the  lamps  in  the  house  extinguished  to  lessen  the 
risk  from  rifle-shots,  the  glare  of  the  conflagrations  threw 
a  reddish  light  into  the  room  where  we  were  gathered, 
and  I  noticed  lying  on  the  table  a  copy  of  Dr.  Barton's 
"  Day  break  in  Turkey."  It  had  come  to  us  fresh  from 
the  printing-press  only  a  week  or  two  before.  Day- 
break !  We  were  still  at  midnight  I 

The  new  government  is  on  the  side  of  law  and  order  ; 
but  what  really  constitutes  the  Ottoman  government  1 
(This  is  a  pertinent  question  because  rapid  transitions 
are  taking  place.)  The  following  are  the  constituent  ele- 
ments at  present :  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  and  the  Cabi- 
net in  the  great  matters  of  legislation  and  finance,  the 
Sultan  in  his  many  royal  prerogatives  supported  in  the 
caliphate  by  popular  Mussulman  sentiment,  the  Sheikh 
ul  Islam  and  his  appointees  in  all  that  concerns  the  Koran 
and  Moslem  law,  the  army1  and  the  provincial  officials  in 
all  the  manifold  details  which  actually  touch  mission 
work.  But  all  these  branches  of  government  are  to-day 
largely  controlled  by  a  group  of  Moslems — the  Committee 
of  Union  and  Progress,  with  its  headquarters  at  Salonica. 
This  committee  is  outside  of  the  government  and  yet  in 
marvellously  intimate  touch  with  almost  all  departments. 
The  intelligent  and  patriotic  officers  in  the  army  have  at- 
tached themselves  to  the  committee  and  have  given  it 
practical  power.  The  control  of  the  majority  in  the 

1  Which  holds  the  key  position  at  present. 


170  Islam  and  Missions 

Chamber  of  Deputies  has  scarcely  wavered  since  the  day 
of  opening.1 

Thus  an  extraordinary  situation  exists.  The  attitude 
of  the  government  upon  any  vital  question  is  largely 
determined  by  the  dictates  of  a  committee  outside  of  the 
government  and  backed  by  the  best  part  of  the  army. 

What  then  of  the  attitude  of  this  committee  f  At  pres- 
ent the  leaders  are  so  absorbed  in  political  affairs  and  in 
the  military  strategy  by  which  their  difficult  position  is 
held  that  they  are  giving  little  attention  to  religious  mat- 
ters. Some  have  even  denounced  religion  as  being  the 
cause  of  divisions  in  the  nation.  But  they  are  not 
directly  opposed  to  Christian  missions  so  long  as  public 
feeling  and  fanaticism  are  not  aroused.  Their  instincts 
are  so  intensely  political  that  they  resent  any  movement 
which  weakens  Islam.  This  is  not  in  most  cases  from 
religious  faith,  but  from  the  instinct  that  Islam  is  the 
strongest  available  bond  for  national  unification  and  for 
defense  against  foreign  aggression. 

If  Christian  missions  could  be  demonstrated  to  them  to 
be  an  advantage  to  the  nation  and  a  means  of  unification 
and  progress,  these  "  Young  Turks"  would  waive  tradi- 
tional Mohammedan  objections.  But  they  are  far  from 
the  field  of  faith  and  theology.  They  are  bent  upon 
political  and  economic  reorganization.  A  considerable 
proportion  of  these  u  Young  Turks  "  are  at  heart  agnostics, 
somewhat  influenced  by  French  writers,  but  more  in- 
fluenced by  the  corrupt  condition  of  Islam. 

It  is  impossible  to  forecast  the  future.  Meanwhile  the 
history  of  the  early  Church  furnishes  inspiring  and  sug- 
gestive studies.  It  does  not  seem  likely  that  the  present 
Ottoman  government  will  vouchsafe  real  religious  liberty. 

1  Yet  the  "  Young  Turks  "  are  involved  in  an'intense  struggle  to  keep 
in  check  the  reactionary  forces  and  in  several  conspicuous  instances 
they  have  been  obliged  to  compromise. 


The  Old  and  New  Regime  in  Turkey      171 

Islam  is  avowedly  the  state  religion,  and  the  Constitution 
will  be  operative  only  so  far  as  it  does  not  conflict  with 
Mohammedan  law  and  custom.  Missionaries  were  once 
regarded  much  as  foreign  consuls.  But  the  spiritual  na- 
ture of  their  work  is  now  understood  and  the  government 
no  longer  feels  obliged  to  strive  for  their  protection. 
Nor  does  the  government  protect  in  any  special  way  the 
communities  under  their  charge.  ISTo  doubt  this  also  is 
of  God.  The  Gospel  of  the  Cross  of  Christ  must  be  pre- 
sented in  the  spirit  of  peace  and  without  worldly  power. 
From  this  point  of  view  opposition  may  be  interpreted  in 
terms  of  sacrifice. 

Indeed,  there  is  reason  to  take  heart  and  thank  God. 
In  a  list  of  questions  submitted  to  experienced  mission- 
aries in  Constantinople,  Salonica,  Van,  Marash,  Aintab, 
Sidon  and  Beirut  I  closed  by  asking,  "  On  the  whole, 
have  you  reason  to  feel  encouraged  by  the  present  atti- 
tude of  the  Ottoman  government  towards  Christian  mis- 
sions?" The  answer  was  unanimously  affirmative  al- 
though touched  with  the  shadow  of  approaching  trial. 
Assuredly  this  gives  hope  of  a  glorious  consummation  to 
a  very  dark  part  of  the  world's  history. 


XII 

CONDITIONS  IN  CENTBAL  ASIA 
COL.  G.  WINGATE,  C.  I.  E.,  LONDON 

WHEN  we  were  children,  in  spite  of  childish 
griefs  for  which  we  regarded  Virgil  as  wholly 
responsible,  there  was  no  more  captivating 
story  to  us  than  the  siege  of  Troy.  How  we  delighted  in 
the  Greek  stratagem  of  the  wooden  horse  which  brought 
the  long  siege  to  an  end,  and  trembled  with  fears  for  the 
accomplishment  of  the  maneuvre  when  we  read  of  the 
wise  old  priest  Laocoon  who  "  feared  the  Greeks  even 
bringing  gifts,"  and  begged  his  fellow  Trojans,  trium- 
phantly dragging  into  their  city  the  innocent- looking 
horse,  to  leave  it  outside  their  walls.  We  rejoiced  when 
Ulysses'  clever  scheme  was  crowned  with  success,  and 
wished  we  had  been  the  Lesser  Ajax  or  some  other  of  the 
hundred  heroes  who  climbed  down  out  of  the  horse  by 
night  and  opened  the  gates  of  the  city  to  the  waiting 
Greeks  outside. 

But  we  have  lived  to  have  more  sympathy  with  the 
suspicions  of  the  sagacious  old  priest,  and  there  is  a  cu- 
rious similarity  to  the  ancient  legend,  which  we  would 
fain  shut  our  eyes  to,  in  this  question  of  Christian  mis- 
sions to  non- Christian  countries.  The  West  again  con- 
fronts the  East,  and  "  Tlmeo  Danaos  et  dona  ferentes" 
seems  borne  to  our  ears,  this  time  from  the  mouths  of 
non-Christian  rulers  and  very  specially  of  the  priests  and 
mullas  of  those  rulers  who  are  apt  to  regard  Christian 
missionary  enterprise  as  a  modern  Wooden  Horse  which, 
however  innocent  it  looks,  will  introduce  foreign  ele- 

172 


Conditions  in  Central  Asia  173 

ments  into  their  fastnesses  and  in  due  course  throw  open 
the  gates  to  that  enemy  of  whom  it  has  been  all  the  while 
the  emissary. 

It  is  necessary  to  meet  and  remove  this  prejudice  in 
the  miuda  of  native  rulers,  for  in  too  many  well-founded 
instances  the  establishment  and  progress  of  Christian 
missions  has  seemed  to  native  rulers  the  precursor  of  po- 
litical agitation  and  local  discontent,  and  finally  the  in- 
terference of  Christian  governments  on  behalf  of  the 
missionary  and  mission  property  resulting  in  the  loss  or 
restriction  of  power  or  territory  to  the  native  state. 

While  missionaries  may  see  and  find  advantages  in 
government  recognition  and  protection,  they  must  also 
remember  that  in  every  contract  there  are  two  contract- 
ing parties  and  that  if  they  receive  practical  benefits  from 
their  own  government,  this  confers  a  right  to  government 
to  look  for  a  corresponding  return.  The  missionary 
becomes  all  unwittingly  the  government  agent  to  extend 
its  sphere  of  influence,  which  may  be  followed  by 
demands  for  "  rectification  of  frontier  "  ;  for  a  government 
is  often  unwillingly  forced  to  this  procedure  by  purely 
political  considerations.  Much  as  the  missionary  may 
regret  these  consequences  it  is  then  impossible  for  him  to 
detach  himself  from  the  obligations  of  the  position,  which 
often  result  in  making  him  appear  in  the  eyes  of  the 
people  among  whom  he  is  working  as  an  agent  of  the 
foreign  power. 

Many  missionaries  have  already  laboured  to  remove 
this  reproach,  and  if  we  can  in  Central  Asia  dissociate 
our  presentation  of  the  claims  of  Christ  from  any  national 
colouring,  we  shall  not  find  so  much  reluctance  on  the 
part  of  either  Mohammedan  or  Buddhist  to  listen  to 
what  we  have  to  say.  They  will  recognize  that  it  is  a 
question  of  the  soul,  and  that  it  concerns  the  appeal  of 
God  to  the  conscience. 


174  Islam  and  Missions 

In  considering  the  attitude  of  Moslem  governments  to 
Christian  missions,  our  remarks  will  have  reference 
chiefly  to  the  attitude  of  Central  Asian  governments, 
and  specially  of  Afghanistan. 

We  shall  be  led  to  wrong  conclusions  if  we  think  of 
Afghanistan  only  as  an  isolated  Moslem  government  with, 
at  the  most,  a  population  of  five  million  people.  Its 
significance  is  great  because  of  its  geographical  position 
in  the  heart  of  Central  Asia,  which  subjects  it  to  the 
reflex  influence  of  a  far-reaching  Mohammedan  popula- 
tion on  all  sides.  It  is  the  core  and  homogeneous  centre 
of  a  great  extended  area  of  contiguous  countries,  Moslem 
in  belief,  whether  or  not  under  influences  or  governments 
of  other  nationalities,  Turkestan,  Persia,  Baluchistan, 
Chitral,  Kashmir,  etc.,  so  that  Afghanistan  represents 
what  is  to  them  the  ideal  spectacle  of  an  orthodox  Moslem 
ruler,  free  and  independent  ruling  over  Moslem  subjects, 
standing  as  a  model  for  other  countries.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  at  present  "No  power  has  any  right 
to  interfere  in  its  administration,  although  it  is  obvious 
that  certain  contingencies  might  alter  its  position  in  this 
respect.  The  government  of  Afghanistan  owes  no 
national  debt,  nor  any  war  indemnity,  and  the  Emir  is 
not  hampered  by  any  capitulations  with  foreign  govern- 
ments. "  To  the  faithful,  Afghanistan  has  much  the  same 
theological  position  and  prestige  in  the  East  as  Turkey  in 
the  West,  and  the  Emir  of  Afghanistan  is  supported  in 
the  aloofness  of  his  relations  with  Christian  rulers, 
whether  England  on  the  one  hand  or  Eussia  on  the  other, 
by  the  unanimous  sentiment  of  races  that  people  the  vast 
areas  of  Central  Asia  surrounding  his  country.  Further, 
the  universal  approval  of  his  co-religionists  in  countries 
that  are  under  foreign  rule  tends  to  strengthen  him  in 
the  continuance  of  this  policy.  The  Mohammedan 
centres  on  the  east — Kashgar,  Yarkand,  and  Khotan — may 


, 


Mosque  at  Samarkand,  Central  Asia 


Street  in  Askabad 


Conditions  in  Central  Asia  175 

be  under  Chinese  rule,  and  Bokhara  on  the  north  with 
its  famous  Mohammedan  university  may  be  under  the 
suzerainty  of  Eussia,  but  foreign  rule  affects  their  beliefs 
as  little  as  England's  rule  over  Malta  has  affected  the 
Eoman  Catholic  creed  of  that  island,  in  fact  the  tendency 
of  the  foreign  rule  of  an  alien  faith  may  be  only  to  inten- 
sify the  national  belief  by  throwing  into  it  all  the  strength 
of  a  pent  up  and  otherwise  inactive  patriotism. 

As  an  instance  in  illustration  of  this  point  it  will  be 
recalled  that  when  the  present  Emir,  Hubbibullah,  re- 
cently visited  India,  he  was  even  surprised  at  the  enthu- 
siasm with  which  he  was  hailed  with  acclaim  by  fifty- 
seven  million  Sunnis  of  India  as  their  spiritual  leader. 
It  was  to  them  in  fact  what  the  visit  of  the  Pope  would  be 
to  Ireland.  On  his  part,  true  to  his  faith  wherever  he  went, 
he  strengthened  the  hands  and  encouraged  the  hearts  of 
his  co-religionists,  and  never  failed  at  the  stated  hours  to 
adjourn  to  the  nearest  mosque  or  quiet  place  for  prayers. 

Other  distinctive  features  of  Moslem  rule  may  be 
traced  to  the  fact  that  the  Mohammedan  is  eminently 
practical.  It  is  the  practical  side  of  him  enforced  by  his 
martial  qualities  that  has  led  to  such  success  in  his  rela- 
tions to  the  races  he  has  conquered.  An  example  of  this 
is  seen  in  the  sagacious  enactment  of  Mohammed,  that 
while  no  Mohammedan  woman  was  to  marry  an  un- 
believer (which  would  be  likely  to  result  in  the  woman 
going  over  to  the  faith  of  her  husband),  the  marriage  of 
a  Mohammedan  man  with  women  of  an  alien  faith  is  so 
definitely  encouraged  that  the  woman  is  theoretically 
allowed  to  retain  her  own  beliefs,  though  the  children  of 
the  marriage  must  be  followers  of  the  prophet. 

We  have  been  taught  to  regard  the  Mohammedan  as  a 
fanatical  and  impossible  bigot,  but  so  practical  is  he  that 
his  attitude  towards  other  faiths  is  enormously  modified 
by  his  environment.  Under  rulers  of  alien  faith,  notably 


1 76  Islam  and  Missions 

in  China,  he  has  for  centuries  patiently  accommodated  him- 
self to  the  ways  of  his  masters,  adopting  the  dress  and 
customs  of  the  country  and  otherwise  behaving  as  a 
Chinaman.  At  the  same  time  his  practical  common  sense 
asserted  itself  in  the  eagerness  with  which  money  was 
found  and  subscribed  to  buy  and  adopt  many  thousands 
of  Chinese  orphans  in  times  of  famine,  who  being  brought 
up  as  Mohammedans,  and  provided  with  Mohammedan 
wives,  propagated  the  faith  and  added  to  the  number  of 
their  adherents  even  in  that  land  where  they  have  suffered 
such  terrible  persecutions.  Again  in  Kashmir,  under  the 
rule  of  high-caste  Hindus,  where  the  iconoclasm  of  the 
Mohammedan  must  be  hourly  tempted  by  Hindu  idolatry, 
their  conduct  is  characterized  as  that  of  a  loyal  and 
obedient  people,  and  the  same  remark  applies  to  Chinese 
Turkestan,  where  a  population  almost  entirely  Mussul- 
man is  under  the  rule  of  the  Confucian  dynasty  of  China. 
The  attitude  of  Moslem  rulers  to  a  foreign  faith  is  in 
many  cases  dictated  by  a  feeling  altogether  apart  from 
religion.  For  instance  we  are  told  of  the  late  Emir  of 
Afghanistan,  ' l  Abd  ur  Eahman  being  possessed  by  an  in- 
stinctive animus  against  company  promoters  and  conces- 
sion-hunters, the  mineral  wealth  of  Afghanistan  is  at 
present  almost  entirely  undeveloped. '  '  In  other  words  he 
had  rather  that  the  buried  wealth  of  his  kingdom,  the  gold 
and  the  silver,  the  iron  and  copper  ore,  the  lead  and  the 
coal  that  are  known  to  exist  should  remain  buried  to  him 
and  his  people,  than  have  it  exploited  and  revealed  and 
even  brought  to  them  at  the  cost  of  a  weakened  authority 
and  the  probable  establishment  within  his  borders  of  an 
alien  and  almost  inevitably  hostile  power  with  conflict- 
ing interests.  If  this  attitude  appears  narrow  it  is  never- 
theless perfectly  intelligible  in  relation  to  commerce,  and 
we  must  therefore  allow  it  the  same  degree  of  reasonable- 
ness ia  regard  to  foreign  missions. 


Conditions  in  Central  Asia  177 

That  the  Emir  is  not  only  tenacious  of  his  authority, 
but  willing  to  give  himself  considerable  work  in  the  con- 
servation of  it,  is  evidenced  by  the  saying  common  in 
Afghanistan  that  there  is  not  a  donkey-driver  in  the 
country  who  does  not  possess  the  signature  of  the  Emir 
to  some  document  giving  him  the  law  which  he  is  to  obey. 
Here  then  we  have  no  Eoi  faineant,  but  a  vigorous 
energetic  ruler,  whose  desire  to  be  allowed  to  manage  his 
own  affairs  is  quite  comprehensible. 

The  native  ruler  who  allows  great  wealth,  under  the 
name  of  capital,  to  be  invested  in  mines  or  other  indus- 
trial undertakings,  finds  he  is  unable  afterwards  to  release 
himself  from  the  obligations  thus  created  and  so  also  he 
has  observed  repeatedly  that  the  fostering  of  missionary 
institutions  involving  much  expenditure  of  foreign  money, 
etc.,  and  resulting  in  the  slow  but  gradual  increase  of  the 
native  Christian  community,  compels  him  to  make  con- 
cessions and  alterations  of  native  laws  which  he  had 
fondly  hoped  to  be  unalterable  as  the  laws  of  the  Medes 
and  Persians. 

Nevertheless  we  must  in  justice  to  these  rulers  remem- 
ber that  some  so-called  Christian  governments  have  been 
equally  impatient  of  missionary  effort  within  their  borders. 
Mr.  L.  E.  Hogberg  of  the  United  Swedish  mission  in 
Chinese  Turkestan  stated  at  the  Edinburgh  Conference 
that  he  and  his  mission  had  for  many  years  laboured 
among  Moslems  in  Eussian  Turkestan,  but  that  the  op- 
position of  the  Eussian  government  was  so  strong  that 
they  finally  had  to  abandon  their  mission  and  flee  to 
Kashgar  in  Chinese  Turkestan,  where  under  a  Chinese 
government  they  have  found  the  religious  toleration 
denied  them  under  the  European  authorities,  and  have 
established  missions  in  the  Mohammedan  cities  of 
Kashgar  and  Yarkand. 

Have  we  not  then  given  too  much  rein  to  our  fears  that 


178  Islam  and  Missions 

have  for  one  hundred  years  confined  the  British  Protes- 
tant missionary  within  the  boundaries  of  India  1  We  are 
assured  by  many  missionaries  that  under  present-day 
conditions  there  are  some  actual  disadvantages  in  work- 
ing under  a  government  of  the  same  faith,  and  we  have 
already  discussed  some  considerations  that  account  for 
this.  At  any  rate  the  advantages  are  not  all  on  the  side 
of  working  under  a  Christian  government,  and  the 
splendid  progress  made  by  the  American  missionaries 
under  Mohammedan  governments  in  Turkey,  Asia  Minor, 
and  Egypt,  furnishes  the  strongest  encouragement  to  at- 
tempt definitely  and  at  once  the  establishment  of  Chris- 
tian missions  throughout  Central  Asia,  not  leaving  out 
of  the  plan  of  campaign  such  an  exclusively  Moham- 
medan country  as  Afghanistan. 

The  present  Emir  of  Afghanistan  addressing  a  large 
audience  of  Mohammedan  students  at  Lahore  said  that, 
provided  they  were  properly  taught  the  Mohammedan 
faith  when  they  were  young,  he  had  no  fear  that  through 
Western  learning  the  Christian  or  any  other  religion 
would  overturn  their  belief.  This  impresses  us  with  the 
conviction  that  it  is  not  every  missionary  who  is  suited  to 
enter  Afghanistan.  There  are  many  names  in  the  history 
of  missions,  Schwartz  in  Southern  India,  Arnot  in  Cen- 
tral Africa,  etc.,  etc.,  which  furnish  notable  examples 
of  the  influence  exercised  by  a  solita.ry  man,  and  that  man 
the  missionary,  over  non-Christian  rulers  of  whom  he  was 
the  trusted  friend  and  counsellor  behind  the  scenes.  The 
missionary  for  the  frontier  must  have  a  quiet  confidence 
in  God  who  has  called  him  to  proclaim  the  Gospel  in  the 
regions  beyond.  He  must  have  a  calm  mind,  a  good 
judgment,  and  a  steady  head  ;  not  a  seeker  for  notoriety, 
anxious  rather  to  do  his  work  unobserved,  and  going 
about  it  in  a  way  to  win  the  confidence  of  the  people. 
Sir  Mortimer  Durand,  late  British  Ambassador  to  the 


Conditions  in  Central  Asia  179 

United  States,  speaking  from  twenty-five  years'  experi- 
ence of  the  East  said  that,  as  a  government  official,  he  had 
no  objection  to  the  type  of  missionary  described  by 
Judson,  who  went  about  his  high  calling  in  the  spirit  of 
one  who  was  willing  to  take  the  lowest  place,  to  be  last  of 
all  and  servant  of  all. 

As  to  his  policy  he  must  not  ask  or  expect  the  permis- 
sion or  protection  of  the  Foreign  Office  or  its  agents.  This 
is  impossible  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  and  the  past 
action  of  the  Foreign  Office  in  always  refusing  to  give  per- 
mission for  missionaries  to  cross  the  Indian  frontier  is 
easily  comprehensible.  To  give  their  sanction  means  that 
they  must  take  up  the  wrongs  of  the  missionary  or  his 
death  by  violence,  if  it  occurs,  and  avenge  him.  Their 
own  agent,  the  English  officer,  is  absolutely  tied  up  and 
restricted  to  an  extraordinary  degree  as  to  what  he  is  to 
do  and  effect,  including  an  absolute  non-interference 
with  the  religion  of  the  peoples  across  the  frontier.  A 
medical  missionary  who  did  not  fear  to  assume  responsi- 
bility, and  with  the  rare  power  to  initiate  his  own  course, 
if  he  went  quietly  forward  asking  no  questions,  would 
probably  be  surprised  at  the  length  of  time  for  which 
the  government  would  "turn  the  blind  eye"  towards 
him. 

For  all  difficult  situations  either  on  or  across  the  frontier, 
government  sends  specially  selected  officers.  Whether  it 
is  to  furnish  the  garrison  at  Kila  Drosh  or  the  political 
agency  at  Chitral,  one  condition  that  applies  to  all  ranks 
from  the  private  to  the  officer  in  command  is  that  wives 
and  families  must  be  left  behind.  While  for  the  last 
fifteen  years  there  have  been  European  officers,  civil, 
political,  and  military,  and  garrisons  of  troops,  located 
even  two  hundred  miles  beyond  the  Indian  frontier,  and 
there  has  been  also  a  continuous  flow  of  merchandize  from 
India  into  the  same  regions,  accompanied  by  traders  who 


180  Islam  and  Missions 

buy  and  sell  their  wares,  yet  all  this  time  the  missionary 
has  been  successfully  shut  out. 

The  men  for  these  trans-frontier  posts  must  be  fully 
qualified  doctors,  otherwise  an  occasion  immediately 
arises  for  the  authorities  to  object  to  their  treating  the  sick 
because  they  do  not  hold  a  recognized  medical  diploma. 

Secondly,  they  must  not  be  accompanied  by  wives  or 
families  for  that  again  justifies  the  government  in  inter- 
ference on  the  ground  that  they  cannot  allow  European 
women  and  children  to  be  exposed  to  the  dangers  that  lie 
across  the  frontier. 

Third,  they  must  have  acquired  some  colloquial  knowl- 
edge of  the  Pushtu  language,  and  that  means  preparing 
themselves  for  at  least  a  year  at  such  a  base  as  Peshawar 
or  Quetta  for  the  work  that  is  before  them. 

Fourth,  they  must  be  able  to  commence  their  own  work 
independent  of  the  local  authorities.  For  this  reason 
they  should  mobilize  their  field  hospital  and  dispensary 
at  the  base  and  carry  it  forward  on  mules  with  them  to  the 
field  of  labour.  They  ought  also  to  have  with  them  one 
or  two  native  trained  hospital  assistants,  Pathans  if  pos- 
sible, who  are  to  be  found  in  the  Punjab. 

We  may  suppose  two  such  medical  missionaries  with 
their  native  hospital  assistants  and  their  field  hospital 
packed  on  mules  starting  off  quietly  in  the  month  of 
May.  What  should  their  geographical  objective  be?  If 
it  is  any  part  of  Central  Asia  they  could  hardly  find 
a  more  strategic  point  than  Chitral.  By  what  route 
should  they  go  ?  It  is  not  at  all  necessary  to  go  by  the 
Malakand  and  Dir  route.  They  can  start  from  Abbot- 
tabad  and  march  by  way  of  Chilas  and  Gilgit  and  Astor 
down  to  Chitral.  There  is  a  good  bridle-path  all  the  way, 
and  by  this  route  no  escort  is  required,  as  it  does  not  pass 
through  hostile  tribes  but  through  territories  suzerain  to 
Kashmir. 


Conditions  in  Central  Asia  181 

Medical  missionaries  pushing  beyond  the  frontier  do 
so  now  with  the  great  advantage  of  the  reputation  already 
gained  for  missionary  medical  skill  by  the  splendid  work 
of  such  men  on  the  northwest  frontier  as  Dr.  Pennell  at 
Baunu,  Dr.  Arthur  Lankester  at  Peshawar,  the  Drs.  Neve 
at  Srinagar,  etc.,  whose  fame  has  travelled  far  into  the 
unknown  regions  beyond. 

The  question  naturally  arises  if  such  a  medical  mission 
reached  Chitral  and  began  its  quiet  work  of  ministering 
to  the  sick  and  suffering  of  that  benighted  Moslem  people 
would  the  political  agent  take  upon  himself  to  transport 
it  back  to  India  t  It  would  be  most  difficult  to  carry  out 
such  a  deportation  in  the  face  of  the  public  opinion  that 
would  be  aroused  in  favour  of  such  a  ministry  of  mercy. 
It  would  be  asked  why,  if  British  officers  and  administra- 
tion have  been  so  long  resident  in  Chitral,  must  medical 
missions  be  forever  excluded  ? 

While  British  missions  are  in  this  manner  frightened 
off  and  shut  out  of  the  Moslem  lands  of  Central  Asia,  mis- 
sionaries of  other  nations  are  entering  these  neglected 
fields.  The  Protestant  Swedish  mission  at  Kashgar  and 
Yarkand  have  their  staff  of  seventeen  Swedish  men  and 
women  in  those  two  towns,  and  are  being  reinforced  this 
winter  by  three  more  trained  workers  sent  out  from 
Stockholm.  We  see  the  Moravian  mission  at  work  at 
Leh,  and  there  is  a  Belgian  Roman  Catholic  mission  at 
Kulja  with  Father  Baemdock  at  the  head  of  it  who  speaks 
both  English  and  Chinese  well.  It  may  be  also  possible 
for  the  Danish  medical  mission  to  Mohammedan  women 
at  Hoti-murdan  to  get  to  Kabul.  There  have  been  several 
European  lady  doctors  at  Kabul  in  the  service  of  the 
Einir.  Mrs.  Daly,  a  lady  doctor,  saved  many  lives  there 
in  the  cholera  epidemic  of  1900.  The  Emir  of  Afghanistan 
has  never  objected  to  the  wives  of  Europeans  in  his  employ 
accompanying  their  husbands  to  Kabul  and  has  invariably 


182  Islam  and  Missions 

treated  them  with  kindness  and  consideration.  There  are 
many  encouragements  to  support  the  belief  that  a  medical 
mission  to  Mohammedan  women  directed  by  fully  qualified 
lady  doctors  would  find  a  welcome  even  in  the  city  of 
Kabul.  The  Mohammedan  does  not  take  it  seriously  that 
women  can  be  teachers  of  religion  and  it  is  foreign  to  their 
ideas  about  women  fanatically  to  attack  a  woman  because 
of  her  religion.  The  wonderful  care  of  God  for  His  mis- 
sionary servants  has  been  apparent  now  for  many  years 
on  the  frontiers  of  India,  for  while  many  government 
officers  have  been  killed  there  by  Moslem  fanatics  there 
is,  it  is  believed,  not  an  instance  of  a  missionary  being 
killed  there. 

"  And  in  the  days  of  these  kings  shall  the  God  of 
heaven  set  up  a  kingdom  which  shall  never  be  destroyed  : 
and  the  kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to  other  people  but  it 
shall  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  these  kingdoms  and 
it  shall  stand  forever  "  (Dan.  ii.  44). 


XIII 

ISLAM  UNDEE  PAGAN  EULE 
REV.  CHARLES  R.  WATSON,  D.  D.,  PHILADELPHIA 

THE  use  of  the  word  " pagan"  in  the  subject 
under  discussion  is  not  altogether  a  happy  one, 
for  it  is  intended  that  such  governments  as 
those  of  China  and  Japan  should  come  within  our  survey, 
and  the  application  of  the  adjective  " pagan"  to  these 
countries  is  resented  by  many.  Eather  what  is  meant  to 
be  discussed  is,  The  attitude  towards  Islam  and  Chris- 
tianity of  governments  which  are  neither  Moslem  nor 
Christian.  And  even  the  revised  phrasing  of  the  subject 
involves  us  in  difficulties,  for  the  question  may  be  fairly 
raised,  Which  are  the  Christian  governments  ?  Some  will 
go  so  far  as  to  say  that  there  are  no  really  Christian 
governments,  but  only  Western  governments  ;  that  these 
are  only  nominally  Christian  ;  and  that  the  spirit,  the 
policies  and  the  agencies  of  the  best  of  these  are  marked 
by  so  much  that  is  contrary  to  the  genius  of  Christianity 
that  the  right  is  forfeited  to  designate  them  as  Christian. 
Passing  by  these  more  superficial  and  technical  diffi- 
culties, a  very  real  difficulty  occurs  in  trying  to  mark  off 
distinctly  the  limits  of  this  discussion.  We  are  dealing 
here  with  governmental  attitudes.  In  the  West  where  the 
line  of  separation  between  religion  and  government,  be- 
tween Church  and  state,  is  drawn  so  sharply,  the  distinc- 
tion may  be  maintained.  But  in  the  pagan  world, 
especially  the  pagan  world  of  Africa,  governmental 
questions  are  usually  religious  questions  and  the  relig- 
ious attitude  generally  carries  with  it  a  governmental 
attitude. 

183 


184  Islam  and  Missions 

Of  governments  which  are  neither  Moslem  nor  Chris- 
tian there  are  a  large  number.  Their  populations  aggre- 
gate more  than  one-third  of  the  human  race.  Not  all 
of  them,  however,  call  for  extended  treatment,  for 
many  of  them  do  not  stand  related,  as  governments 
to  Islam,  in  any  vital  or  artificial  way. 

JAPAN  allows  religious  liberty.  Islam  is  practically 
unknown  in  Japan.  Consequently,  no  governmental 
attitude  obtains,  but  if  Islam  were  introduced,  it  would 
probably  enjoy  the  same  privileges  for  self -extension 
which  are  accorded  to  all  religions. 

CHINA  stands  related  to  Islam  through  the  10,000,000 
Moslems  living  within  her  boundaries.  The  Chinese 
government  has,  throughout  its  history,  welcomed  and 
protected  foreign  religions  when  these  were  disassociated 
from  political  plots.  This  has  perhaps  been  less  evi- 
dent in  China7  s  treatment  of  Christianity  than  in  the 
case  of  its  attitude  towards  other  religious.  As  a  result 
of  this  general  policy,  Islam  has  been  tolerated  in 
the  Chinese  Empire.  The  only  conflict  that  has  arisen 
between  the  Chinese  and  the  Mohammedans  was  when 
the  latter  assumed  political  powers  in  opposition  to 
government  authority,  as  in  the  case  of  the  great  Mo- 
hammedan rebellion  which  took  place  a  few  years  ago 
in  the  northwest  of  China. 

There  seems  to  be  general  testimony  to  the  fact  that 
the  Moslems  of  China  are  not  aggressive  propagandists 
of  Islam.  This  fact  coupled  with  their  lack  of  any 
strong  political  leadership  and  the  fact  that  they  con- 
stitute scarcely  more  than  one-fortieth  of  the  popula- 
tion of  the  empire,  makes  the  governmental  attitude 
to  Islam  one  of  no  great  present  importance. 

KOREA  has  become  entirely  subject  to  Japanese  con- 
trol and  what  has  been  said  of  Japan  is  now  applicable 
to  Korea. 


Islam  Under  Pagan  Rule  185 

INDIA  has  within  its  limits  a  number  of  independent 
or  semi- independent  kingdoms.  Some  of  these  are 
Hindu  and  as  such  come  within  the  scope  of  this  survey. 
Cochin  and  Travancore,  Baroda,  Mysore,  Jamnu  and 
Kashmir,  most  of  Eajputana,  Gwalior,  Eewa,  Kolhapur 
and  Patiala,  are  such  states.  The  presence  of  British 
residents  at  the  courts  of  the  Hindu  rulers  introduces 
strong  elements  of  Western  influence  and  works  in  the 
direction  of  general  religious  toleration,  but  the  deep 
hatred  between  Hindus  and  Mohammedans  in  India 
generally  excludes  Islam  from  these  Hindu  courts,  so  that 
the  condition  of  Moslems  there  is  not  a  practical  topic. 

AFRICA  brings  into  view  the  nations  or  peoples  whose 
attitude  towards  both  Islam  and  Christianity  is  a  living 
issue  of  larger  importance  than  the  countries  above 
mentioned.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  with  the  partition 
of  Africa  among  the  European  powers,  there  remains 
scarcely  any  of  Africa's  population  which  can  be  said  to 
constitute  an  independent  and  sovereign  pagan  state  or 
kingdom.  In  practically  every  section,  some  European 
government  is  nominally  in  supreme  authority.  This 
authority,  however,  may  be  exercised  within  only  a  very 
limited  portion  of  the  sphere  of  influence  claimed  by 
that  Western  power,  or  it  may  be  exercised  so  slightly 
as  to  leave  the  social,  communal  and  tribal  life  of  the 
people  entirely  unaffected  by  Western  domination.  In 
such  cases,  there  is,  therefore,  an  imperium  in  imperio 
and  the  village  or  tribal  life  is  practically  sovereign  and 
remains  pagan,  even  though  some  European  power 
claims  the  entire  territory.  It  becomes  our  task  to 
note  the  attitude  of  this  subordinated  tribal  pagan  gov- 
ernment towards  both  Islam  and  Christianity. 

From  the  evidence  gathered,  certain  general  conclu- 
sions may  be  arrived  at  and  certain  general  statements 
may  be  made  : 


l86  Islam  and  Missions 

1.  The  attitude  of  a  pagan  government  towards  either 
Islam  or  Christianity  depends  quite  largely  upon  the 
head  of   that  pagan  government.     Pagan  government 
is  so  largely  patriarchal  in  character  that  almost  every- 
thing depends  upon  the  individual  who  happens  to  be 
chief  of  the  tribe  or  clan.     A  report  from  the  Congo 
describes  the  attitude  of  the  pagan  government  as  neu- 
tral because  the  tribal  heads  are  simply  indifferent  to 
Christianity.     Among  the  Zulus,   however,   the    Eoyal 
House  assumed  an  attitude  of  hostility  towards  Christi- 
anity.    "The  Eoyal  House  and  the  chiefs,"  says  Eev. 
F.  Ljungquist,  "have  always  been  antagonistic  to  the 
extension  of    the    Gospel.      The  Christian  Zulus  have 
always  been  treated  by  them  as  outcast  strangers.    The 
Zulu  kings  would  not  allow  a  native  Christian  in  the 
army.     When    they  wanted    a    square  house  built  or 
a  field  ploughed  by  oxen,  they  had  to  make  use  of  the 
Christian    Zulu,  but    they  paid    them,   which  implied : 
1  You  are  neither  kith  nor  kin  to  us  and  therefore  we 
pay  you  just  as  any  other  foreigner.7     Bishop  Schreuder 
saw  the  danger  of  this  outcast  position,  and  tried  to 
induce  King  Mpande  to  accept  the  Christians  into  the 
Zulu    army,   but  the  king  refused,   saying,  'How  can 
you   expect   those    trouser-legs  to  run  as  fast  as  my 
trouserless  soldiers  f  >  " 

The  early  history  of  missions  in  Uganda  will  also 
illustrate  perfectly  the  statement  made  that  the  attitude 
of  a  pagan  government,  whether  towards  Islam  or 
towards  Christianity,  is  very  largely  determined  by  the 
personal  character  and  attitude  of  the  individual  chief- 
tain or  king  in  his  relation  to  either  of  these  religions. 

These  facts  suggest  the  wisdom  and  necessity  of  wisely 
endeavouring  to  bring  the  gospel  message  to  the  favour- 
able notice  of  the  heads  of  such  pagan  governments. 

2.  In  many  cases  there  exists  among  pagan  tribes  a 


f 


Islam  Under  Pagan  Rule  187 

racial  hostility  towards  Islam.  The  first  acquaintance 
which  many  pagan  tribes  have  had  with  Islam  has 
been  through  the  threatening  advances  of  the  Moslem 
slave  raider.  In  such  instances  the  pagan  government 
has  naturally  assumed  an  attitude  of  intense  hostility 
towards  Islam,  as  towards  a  common  political  enemy 
seeking  the  enslavement,  if  not  the  extermination,  of 
the  whole  tribe.  This  attitude  of  hostility  has  been 
a  providence  of  inestimable  value  in  safeguarding  the 
life  of  pagan  tribes  from  the  insidious  advances  of 
Islam.  This  attitude  was  once  that  of  many  pagan 
tribal  governments  of  Northern  Nigeria  and  of  the 
Eastern  Sudan. 

3.  In  many  cases,  there  appears  to  be  among  pagan 
tribes  a  racial  sympathy  if  not  with  Christianity  as  a 
system,  at  least  with  the  white  man  as  the  representa- 
tive of  Christianity.  Dr.  Karl  Kumm,  who  has  just 
completed  a  most  remarkable  journey  across  Africa, 
from  Nigeria  to  the  White  Nile,  and  who  traversed 
the  very  area  of  Africa  most  involved  in  this  discus- 
sion, writes,  "  The  white  man's  prestige  amongst  some 
of  the  uureached  tribes  of  the  Sudan,  such  as  the  Mus- 
gun,  the  Sara,  the  Banda,  the  Kreish,  the  Nyam-Nyam, 
the  Bongo,  and  others,  is  very  great.  The  pagan  chiefs 
so  far  from  desiring  to  hinder  the  missionary  are  proud 
to  have  a  white  teacher  living  in  their  country."  Eev. 
E.  H.  Eichards  sends  a  similar  report  for  Inhambane, 
Portuguese  East  Africa.  It  will  be  remembered  also 
how  eager  was  Eobosi,  king  of  the  Barotsi,  to  have 
Coillard  settle  among  his  people. 

On  the  other  hand,  pagan  governments  have  frequently 
opposed  Christianity  and  favoured  Islam  because  the 
teachings  of  the  former  religion  condemned  the  practices 
of  these  pagan  governments ;  whereas  Islam  called  for 
little,  if  any,  governmental  change.  Uganda,  again, 


i88  Islam  and  Missions 

furnished  the  most  instructive  illustrations  of  this  fact. 
The  Eev.  Donald  Fraser,  also,  writing  for  Nyasaland, 
reports,  "Few  of  the  chiefs  have  professed  Christianity. 
The  temptations  to  sensual  indulgence  are  great  for  them. 
A  plurality  of  wives  increases  their  prestige.  Drunken- 
ness is  a  royal  condition. "  Here,  for  the  most  part,  the 
advantage  is  on  the  side  of  Islam  which  contravenes  few, 
if  any,  of  the  practices  or  methods  of  a  pagan  govern- 
ment :  tyranny,  polygamy,  slavery,  cruel  punishments 
\and  warfare. 
The  uniform  testimony  of  missionaries  is  that,  given  a 
choice  between  a  Moslem  government  and  a  pagan  gov- 
ernment, they  would  greatly  prefer  to  labour  under  a 
pagan  government.  Of  course,  it  is  not  always  clear  that 
when  this  preference  is  expressed,  a  clear  distinction  has 
been  observed  between  Islam  as  a  religion  and  Islam  as  a 
political  force.  We  are  here  concerned  only  with  the 
governmental  side  of  both  Islam  and  paganism.  What 
Islam  has  meant  as  a  government  those  know,  to  their 
sorrow,  who  have  laboured  under  Islamic  governments. 
What  its  dreadful  possibilities  are  those  know  who  are 
acquainted  with  conditions  in  Afghanistan.  What 
paganism  has  meant  as  a  government  those  know  also  who 
have  read  the  story  of  Uganda's  bloodshed  and  martyr- 
doms. But  when  the  two  systems  are  fully  weighed,  the 
one  over  against  the  other,  the  missionary  eagerly  asks 
that  his  lot  may  be  cast  under  pagan  government  rather 
than  under  the  Moslem.  Irresponsible,  unreliable,  vacil- 
lating, bloodthirsty,  as  a  pagan  government  may  be,  it 
possesses  as  a  government  no  such  capacity  for  sustained, 
unrelenting  opposition,  for  unwearied  petty  persecution 
as  well  as  for  tragic  outbreaks,  such  as  history  has  shown 
in  Islam.  African  missionaries  generally  will  agree  with 
what  one  of  their  number  writes,  "  I  prefer  decidedly  to 
deal  with  the  free  pagan,  in  government  and  in  person. " 


Islam  Under  Pagan  Rule  189 

The  displacement  of  pagan  governments  by  Western 
governments  has  been,  generally,  to  the  advantage  of  the 
missionary  enterprise  as  a  whole.  Yet,  when  we  consider 
only  the  way  in  which  that  change  affects  the  status  of 
Islam,  it  is  with  regret  that  the  statement  must  be  made 
that  the  change  from  a  pagan  government  to  a  Western 
government  has  generally  been  to  the  advantage  of  Islam. 

It  was  pointed  out  that  both  in  Nigeria  and  Eastern 
Sudan  a  racial  hostility  has  existed  between  pagans  and 
Moslems,  because  the  latter  appeared  as  slave  raiders  and 
public  enemies  ;  and  it  was  seen  that  this  very  racial  hos- 
tility served  as  a  providential  check  to  the  progress  of 
Islam.  It  is  a  most  sobering  and  saddening  thought  that 
while  the  occupation  of  these  sections  of  Africa  by  the 
British  has  protected  the  pagan  tribes  from  the  slave 
raiding  of  their  Moslem  enemies,  the  pacification  of  these 
tribes  has  also  removed  that  tribal  warfare  which  so  long 
held  Islam  in  check,  and  the  opening  of  the  highways  of 
trade  has  also  opened  the  way  for  the  rapid  entrance 
of  Islam  into  the  very  territory  from  which  it  was  for- 
merly excluded. 

The  second  advantage  gained  by  Islam  through  the  ex- 
tension of  Western  governmental  authority  over  pagan 
territory  comes  from  the  establishment  of  military  posts 
throughout  this  territory.  These  military  posts  are 
manned,  if  not  commanded,  by  Moslem  soldiers  and  offi- 
cials. The  fact  that  the  agent  of  Islam  in  this  case  is  a 
soldier  brings  him  into  immediate  relationship  with  the 
tribal  chieftains  and  gives  him  an  influence  which  the 
unofficial  missionary  does  not  have  and  cannot  have  un- 
less he  earnestly  seeks  after  it. 

A  missionary  from  German  East  Africa  writes, 
"Though  Islam  has  not  yet  taken  root,  it  is  seeking  to 
gain  admittance  on  all  sides.  Wherever  a  government 
station  or  a  military  post  is  established,  a  community  of 


190  Islam  and  Missions 

Swahili  traders,  Sudanese  Askaris  and  their  dependents 
(all  Moslems)  settles  down.  When  I  went  to  Usambara 
in  1891,  there  was  scarcely  a  Mohammedan  in  the  coun- 
try ;  sixteen  years  later  there  were  little  communities  of 
them  all  over  the  country,  and  the  chiefs  were  more  in- 
clined to  conform  to  Islam  than  to  join  the  Christian 
Churches. ' ' 

The  third  advantage  gained  by  Islam  through  the  ex- 
tension of  Western  governmental  authority  over  pagan 
tribes  is  due  to  that  strange  and  inconsistent,  yet  sadly 
real,  policy  of  many  Western  governments  whereby  Islam 
is  given  precedence  and  is  shown  favours,  so  that  the 
government  itself  seems  to  be  helping  to  extend  Islam. 
Recurring  testimony  is  at  hand  where  the  movements  or 
labours  of  the  Christian  missionary  are  restricted.  The 
consideration  of  these  unfortunate  situations  found  a 
large  place  in  the  Eeport  of  the  Commission  on  "Mis- 
sions and  Governments,"  of  the  Edinburgh  Conference. 
Eeference  is  made  to  them  here,  solely  for  the  purpose  of 
pointing  out  that  the  displacement  of  a  pagan  govern- 
ment by  a  Western  government,  while  generally  advan- 
tageous to  Christian  missionary  operations,  is  disadvan- 
tageous in  so  far  as  these  missionary  operations  stand 
related  to  the  Moslem  problem. 

This  investigation  and  consideration  of  the  attitude  of 
pagan  governments  towards  Islam  and  Christianity  sug- 
gests certain  broad  lines  of  missionary  policy. 

1.  It  is  a  manifest  duty,  and  one  which  permits  no  de- 
lay, to  preoccupy  the  pagan  fields  threatened  by  Islam. 
The  urgency  here  lies  not  in  the  mere  fact  that  Islam  as  a 
religion  is  harder  to  deal  with  than  paganism,  but  rather 
in  the  consideration  that  the  missionary  enterprise  be- 
comes seriously  embarrassed  and  hampered  where  a  pagan 
government  is  allowed  to  fall  under  the  influence  of 
Islam.  Preoccupation  by  Christian  missionaries  may 


Islam  Under  Pagan  Rule  191 

not  avail  to  win  at  once  a  given  pagan  tribe  to  Christian- 
ity, but  it  will  almost  invariably  be  sufficient  to  keep  the 
pagan  government  from  surrendering  to  Moslem  influ- 
ence. 

To  show  the  opportunity  for,  and  the  real  value  of, 
preoccupation  by  Christian  forces  of  areas  threatened  by 
Islam,  the  following  quotation  is  given  :  "  We  are  be- 
ginning,7' writes  the  Eev.  John  Wright,  "  to  see  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Hausa  people  in  the  Kameruns,  but  so  far 
they  have  not  tried  to  propagate  their  faith.  We  are 
fortifying  our  people  against  inroads  from  either  pagan- 
ism or  Islam.  West  Africa,  we  believe,  will  be  a  battle- 
field for  religious  beliefs  in  the  future.  Especially  when 
the  caravans  are  superseded  by  the  railroads  all  classes 
will  be  brought  into  contact.  We  have  no  fear  that  our 
tribes  will  be  overrun  by  Islam  at  present  and  in  the 
meantime  we  are  getting  them  ready  and  their  response 
would  gladden  the  heart  of  an  infidel.  German  thorough- 
ness of  education  is  demanded  of  us  all  in  teaching  in  all 
lines — industrial,  normal  and  theological — and  this  is 
their  guard  against  Islam. " 

2.  In  addition  to  exerting  a  general  moral  influence 
over  pagan  tribes  through  the  presence  of  the  Christian 
missionary,  a  positive  effort  may  be  made  to  win  over  to 
Christianity  pagan  officials,  chiefs  or  headmen.  It  is 
true  that  one  missionary  objects,  saying,  "To  me  it 
savours  of  trusting  to  the  arm  of  flesh."  But  yet,  the 
missionaries,  without  ceasing  to  be  "harmless  as  doves," 
may  legitimately  be  "wise  as  serpents"  in  this  matter. 
As  Eev.  W.  H.  Sanders  of  Angola  writes,  "A  converted 
chief— really  converted— exerts  a  surprisingly  great  in- 
fluence. And  on  the  other  hand,  one  who  is  opposed 
can  almost  entirely  nullify  Christian  work.  This  fact 
suggests  the  wisdom  of  getting  hold  of  the  young  men 
of  such  families  and  training  them  up  for  Christian  work." 


192  Islam  and  Missions 

Keporting  for  Southern  Nigeria,  the  Eev.  A.  W.  Wilkie 
says,  ( t  Every  individual  is  attached  to  a  household  and 
is  under  the  head  of  that  household.  There  are  about 
ninety  heads  of  houses.  Each  house  is  a  branch  of  a 
family  which  has,  similarly,  a  head.  There  are  five 
main  families  which  together  recognize  one  man  as  chief 
of  the  whole  town.  I  have  made  an  effort  to  keep  in  close 
touch  with  the  heads  of  the  different  houses  and  to 
influence  them  for  Christ.  If  the  head  of  a  house  is  won, 
there  is  every  hope  that  the  whole  of  his  house  will  be 
influenced.  One  such  came  within  the  church  five  years 
ago.  Now,  in  his  farm,  which  is  a  good  sized  village,  he 
has  built  a  school  for  the  children,  he  supports  a  teacher, 
and  service  is  held  regularly  morning  and  evening  for 
prayers  and  on  Sabbath  for  ordinary  worship.  It  was 
the  gain  of  not  one  man  but  a  whole  community.  They 
are  not  all  Christians,  of  course,  but  they  are  all  under 
the  finest  influence." 

3.  Further  effort  must  be  made  along  the  line  of 
urging  Western  governments  to  cooperate  in  every  legiti- 
mate way,  preventing  the  spread  of  Islam  among  pagan 
tribes.  This  would  mean,  of  course,  the  removal  of 
many  limitations  now  placed  upon  Christian  missionaries 
by  such  governments.  It  would  also  mean  the  correction 
of  many  policies  unintentionally  favourable  to  Islam.  Dr. 
Karl  Kumm,  for  example,  after  his  trans- African  trip, 
wrote,  "The  British  Egyptian  government  is  uninten- 
tionally assisting  the  advance  of  Mohammedanism. 
The  soldiers  of  the  Sudanese  battalions  are  nearly  all 
drawn  from  pagan  tribes.  As  soon  as  they  enter  the 
army  they  are  circumcised,  and  placed  under  Moslem 
religious  instruction.  They  are  compelled  to  rest  on 
Friday,  and  work  on  Sunday.  The  children  of  the  regi- 
ment are  taught  by  a  Mohammedan  Mallam.  The  great 
holidays  and  feast  days  in  the  year  are  Mohammedan 


Islam  Under  Pagan  Rule 

holidays.  If,  therefore,  the  soldiers,  after  their  period  of 
service,  return  to  their  tribes,  they  carry  with  them  and 
spread  the  faith  of  Mohammed." 

It  ought  to  be  recognized  that  in  many  instances,  in- 
dividual British  government  officials  heartily  sympathize 
with  the  desire  to  check  the  inroads  of  Islam,  and  coop- 
erate in  so  far  as  the  governmental  policies  laid  upon 
them  enable  them  to  do  so.  The  Rev.  E.  McCreery, 
writing  from  the  Sobat  region  of  the  Egyptian  Sudan, 
says :  * i  Up  to  the  present  time,  the  Governor  of  the 
Upper  Nile  province  has  made  a  determined  effort  to 
keep  out  the  Arab  traders  from  these  tribes."  Dr.  Karl 
Kuniin  also  reports  :  * '  Sir  Reginald  Wingate,  the  Sirdar 
of  the  Eastern  Sudan,  told  me  he  is  strongly  in  favour  of 
missionaries  going  to  the  pagan  tribes  in  the  Sudan, 
which  in  the  absence  of  such  are  going  over  to  Islam. 
He  desires  to  encourage  the  conversion  to  Christianity  of 
the  heathen  tribes.  He  expressed  to  me  also  his  belief 
that  at  the  present  rate  of  progress  of  Islam,  the  Bahr  el 
Ghazal  province,  a  vast  territory,  will  shortly  become 
Moslem." 

4.  In  conclusion,  whatever  be  the  policy  followed, 
whatever  the  methods  employed,  emphasis  must  be  laid 
upon  the  time-element  as  a  condition  of  success.  It  was 
this  consideration  that  led  Commission  I  of  the  Edin- 
burgh Conference  to  give  to  the  African  missionary  situa- 
tion the  second  place  (China  alone  being  ahead)  in  a  list 
of  critical  missionary  situations  claiming  the  immediate 
attention  of  the  Church  as  a  whole. 1 

We  can  do  no  better  than  to  quote  the  following  stir- 
ring sentences  from  that  Commission's  Report  on  Africa  : 

"In  no  respect  is  the  situation  in  Africa  more  critical 
than  in  respect  of  the  rapid  and  persistent  advance  of 
Islam.  From  its  broad  base  in  the  north  and  frem  its 

1  Report  of  Commission  I,  page  364. 


194  Islam  and  Missions 

strong  entrenchments  on  the  east  coast,  it  is  steadily 
pressing  southward  and  westward.  It  offers  to  the 
primitive  tribes,  along  with  the  attractions  of  a  nobler 
belief,  the  inducements  of  a  certain  social  elevation,  of 
connection  with  a  great  religious  community,  and -of  a 
better  standing  with  foreign  administrations,  while  its 
terms  both  of  conversion  and  of  membership  present  no 
difficulty  to  the  understanding  or  morality  of  a  heathen. 
.  .  .  The  question  is,  shall  we  tarry  and  trifle  in  our 
mission,  while  Africa  is  being  made  the  prey  of  Islam  ? 
The  added  difficulty  of  our  task  to-day  is  the  penalty  of 
our  past  neglect ;  and  if  we  are  to  avert  our  task  being 
made  harder  still  by  the  onward  march  of  Islam,  there  is 
not  a  day  to  lose." 


XIY 

ISLAM  UNDER  CHRISTIAN  RULE 
REV.  W.  H.  T.  GAIRDNER,  B.  A.,  CAIRO 

THERE  are  five  European  nations  who  between 
them  rule  the  enormously  greater  majority  of 
all  the  Moslems  in  the  world  :    Great  Britain, 
France,  Germany,   Holland  and  Russia.     And  to  these 
must  now  be  added  the  United  States,  which  has  become 
a  ruler  of  Moslems — comparatively  few  it  is  true — in  the 
Philippine  Islands.      But  the  former  five  are  all  great 
Moslem  rulers ;  and  the  greatest  Moslem  ruler  in  the 
world  is  Great  Britain. 

Under  France : 

The  attitude  of  France  towards  work  among  Moslems  of 
course  is  one  aspect  of  the  general  attitude  of  France  to 
all  missions,  and  especially  to  non-Roman  and  non-French 
missions.  The  attitude  towards  the  latter  is  unfortunately 
still  intensely  suspicious  and  unfriendly.  The  accounts 
from  Madagascar  do  not  seem  to  be  improving  j  for 
though  France  may  be  a  little  less  suspicious  than  for- 
merly, she  makes  up  for  it  by  the  deliberate  way  she  is 
prosecuting  her  secularizing  policy,  for  which  she  is  ap- 
parently zealous  with  a  zeal  worthy  of  a  better  cause. 
Nevertheless  the  French  missionaries  at  the  Edinburgh 
Conference  of  1910  besought  the  foreign  societies  not  to 
withdraw  or  lose  heart.  We  must  therefore  never  forget 
to  take  into  our  purview  the  enormous  French  Moslem 
Empire  in  North  and  North  Central  and  West  Central 
Africa,  and  eastward  to  the  borders  of  Darfur,  for  last 

195 


196  Islam  and  Missions 

year  the  French  occupied  Wadai  effectively.  France 
grudgingly  tolerates  non-Eoman  missions  in  Algiers  and 
Tunis.  I  do  not  know  what  her  attitude  would  be  to  the 
idea  of  missions  to  Moslems  in  the  Sahara  or  the  Niger 
district  or  Lake  Chad  or  Wadai.  One  imagines  that  such 
missions  would  be  at  present  barred,  and  if  this  is  so  it 
calls  for  earnest  prayer ;  for  on  the  attitude  of  France  de- 
pends the  evangelization  of  these  vast  regions. 

Under  Russia  : 

On  the  17th  of  April,  1905,  the  new  law  of  Eeligious 
Toleration  was  promulgated  in  Eussia.  One  of  the  first 
results  of  this  was  the  return  of  some  50,000  so-called  con- 
verts to  Christianity  to  their  former  Moslem  allegiance. 
And  they  took  with  them  some  converts  who  were  not 
formerly  Moslems. 

The  astounding  thing  is  that  Eussia  appears  to  allow 
Islam  to  proselytize,  even  from  the  Greek  Church,  while 
proselytizing  efforts  or  results  on  the  part  of  non-Greek  re- 
ligious communities  are  still  very  severely  discountenanced 
by  the  government.  All  my  Eussian  informants  are  clear 
on  this  point.  Thus  Eussian  neutrality  appears  to  be  a 
very  ambiguous  affair,  for  the  attitude  which  we  have 
here  described  acts  as  an  unlimited  encouragement  to  the 
Moslems,  while  it  places  many  forces  of  earnest  Christian 
effort  still  under  severe  and  vexatious  restraints.  Under 
these  conditions  the  race  is  unequal. 

The  Eussian  lady  who  has  studied  the  subject  most, 
and  has  contributed  a  paper  to  this  conference,  adds  : 
"  Our  government  holds  the  same  strange  attitude  to  Islam 
as  England  seems  to  me  to  do  in  Egypt  or  Africa.  It 
seems  to  me  that  our  government  is  afraid  of  arousing  the 
Mohammedan  part  of  the  nation  by  any  such  unjust  and 
harsh  measures  which  it  is  not  afraid  to  apply  towards 
Eussian  sectarians.  The  effect  of  this  policy  is  an  en- 


Islam  Under  Christian  Rule  197 

couragement  to  Islam  ;  it  allows  it  to  be  aggressive  and 
spread.  Aiid  it  certainly  does  spread." 

In  Tin*  is,  medical  and  educational  work  were  forbidden 
to  Dr.  Larsen.  Is  this  only  because  he  is  non-Bussian  ? 

In  Siberia  it  is  the  same  thing  : — complete  freedom  to 
the  Moslems  to  exist,  and  really  to  proselytize  even  from 
the  Greek  Church.  Apparently  only  the  Greek  Church 
has  liberty  to  work  among  Moslems,  and  it  actually  has 
two  tiny  missions  in  the  provinces  of  Tomsk  and  Tobolsk. 
But  even  here  "the  Moslems  have  the  right  to  prevent 
their  entry. "  Their  missionaries  only  come  "  as  private 
visitors."  My  informant  for  these  facts  is  another  Kus- 
siau  lady  who  has  specially  studied  Islam  in  Siberia. 
Here  then,  as  in  all  the  Kussian  Empire,  the  balances  are 
held  very  unevenly.  And  the  motive  is  believed  by  our 
informant  to  be  the  secret  fear  of  the  Kussian  government. 
Now  will  not  everything  done  through  fear  sooner  or  later 
fail  and  defeat  its  own  object? 

Under  Holland : 

The  question  just  put  is  a  pertinent  one,  as  we  shall  see 
when  we  come  to  consider  the  case  of  the  British  govern- 
ment ;  and  the  evidence  from  the  Dutch  Empire  in  the 
East  Indies  is  a  proof  of  the  uselessness  of  the  policy  of 
secret  fear. 

I  cannot  do  better  than  quote  in  full  the  communication 
made  to  me  by  Mr.  K  Adriani  of  the  Central  Celebes 
mission.  Delegates  will  carefully  observe  what  he  says 
about  the  policy  of  fear,  the  consequences  of  pursuing  it, 
and  the  consequences  of  abandoning  it. 

"What  is  the  policy  of  the  Dutch  government  and  its 
attitude  to  Islam  in  the  Archipelago? 

"  This  policy  is  one  of  strict  neutrality  towards  Islam, 
being  the  only  practical  policy,  because  it  can  be  main- 
tained. The  mission  is  entirely  at  one  with  the  govern- 


198  Islam  and  Missions 

ment  on  this  principle.  In  general,  the  officials  of  the 
government  individually  are  kindly  disposed  towards  the 
mission,  having  an  open  eye  for  its  political  importance, 
but  they  keep  a  strict  neutrality  in  matters  religious. 
Formerly  the  government  showed  a  kind  of  fear  for  Islam, 
and  always  retreated,  whenever  an  affair,  according  to 
Mohammedan  contention,  was  supposed  to  touch  the 
Mohammedan  religion.  Thus  the  Christian  mission  often 
was  excluded  or  difficulties  were  put  in  its  way  for  fear  of 
the  Mohammedans  taking  offense.  This  attitude  govern- 
ment has  abandoned  entirely ;  the  Christian  mission  is  no 
longer  excluded  for  fear  of  Islam. 

"  The  effect  of  this  former  policy  and  attitude  on  Islam 
was  that  the  government's  neutrality  was  explained  by 
the  Mohammedan  natives  of  the  Archipelago  as  born  from 
fear  of  Islam.  When  the  officials  do  not  take  sides  for 
Christianity,  the  Mohammedan  natives  explain  this  to  be 
proof  of  the  superiority  of  Islam,  which  is  allowed  to  pro- 
claim its  ideas  loudly,  whilst  Christianity  remains  dumb. 
But  the  Dutch  government  is  aware  of  this  now,  and  is  try- 
ing to  neutralize  the  pernicious  effects  of  its  former  policy. 

' l  What  is  the  government' s  attitude  now  towards  mission 
work  ?  This  attitude  is  one  of  unlimited  good-will,  as  far 
as  this  is  conceivable  with  the  policy  of  neutrality.  This 
attitude  is  born  of  the  fact  that  the  mission  in  the  Archi- 
pelago has  hitherto  scrupulously  abstained  from  touching 
political  matters  of  any  kind,  and  is  strictly  adhering  to 
the  carrying  out  of  its  self-imposed  mission — the  evangeli- 
zation of  the  non-Christian  peoples." 

I  think  that  no  comment  on  this  remarkable  testimony 
is  needed.  O  si  sic  omnes  ! 

Under  Germany  : 

It  is  pleasant  to  have  to  relate  on  the  strength  of  infor- 
mation received  from  German  territories  that  Germany  too 


Islam  Under  Christian  Rule  199 

appears  to  be  willing  to  learn  the  lesson  which  Holland 
lias  learned.  Pastor  Wiirz  writes  to  me  however  that  a 
certain  timidity  still  exists  on  the  part  of  the  local  govern- 
ment in  Togolaud  and  the  Kameruns.  He  says,  "Our 
mission  work  is  on  the  Gold  Coast  (British)  and  in  the 
Kameruns  (German),  and  we  have  considered  at  different 
times  entering  the  north  of  Togo  (German).  We  have 
little  to  say  on  your  question  concerning  the  Gold  Coast 
and  Kameruus,  as  we  have  not  reached  yet  what  might  be 
termed  Moslem  territory.  Generally,  both  governments 
are  friendly.  It  is  encouraging  that,  a  few  months  ago, 
we  were  invited  to  come  to  some  part  in  the  north  of  the 
Gold  Coast,  where  Islam  is  strong.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  German  governor  of  Togo  would  not  let  us  go  to  the 
north  of  Togo,  for  fear  of  Moslem  troubles,  from  which  he 
had  no  sufficient  means  to  protect  us  until  the  railway  was 
finished.  I  fear  the  Kameruus  government  would  have 
similar  apprehensions  if  to-morrow  we  tried  to  enter  the 
Moslem  district  in  the  north  of  this  colony.  Did  the 
cautious  preaching  of  the  Gospel  ever  cause  Moslem 
troubles?  I  have  asked  Dr.  Zwemer,  but  he  did  not 
know  of  any  case.  Would  that  Christian  governments 
only  had  more  Christian  courage  ! " 

On  the  east  coast  of  Africa  the  attitude  of  the  German 
government  seems  admirable.  The  Bishop  of  Mombasa, 
part  of  whose  diocese  is  in  German  East  Africa,  writes  : 
"In  German  East  Africa,  judging  from  what  I  know, 
while  impartial  in  matters  of  justice,  the  government 
distinctly  wishes  to  keep  Islam  as  such  from  spreading, 
and  desires  to  have  educated  Christian  people  every- 
where. For  example,  among  other  instances,  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  was  strongly  urged  to  occupy  a 
strategic  centre  some  eight  days  away  from  its  nearest 
station  in  Ugogo  in  order  to  keep  Islam  back.  The 
Church  Missionary  Society  was  unable,  and  the  Ger- 


2oo  Islam  and  Missions 

mans  then  invited  the  Eoman  Catholics  to  occupy,  who 
did  so. 

"In  German  East  Africa  for  some  years  we  have  had 
clear  signs  of  the  very  favourable  attitude  of  government 
towards  mission  work.  Under  Count  von  Gotzen's  rule 
the  missionaries  and  their  work  were  set  at  high  value 
and  much  encouragement  was  given  all  round." 

The  Bishop  adds  that  the  German  government,  while 
showing  no  partiality,  makes  it  clear  that  it  does  not  re- 
gard the  Christian  religion  as  one  of  many,  but  as  tbe  one 
religion  which  it  can  recognize  as  paramount  and  unique, 
and  that  it  values  Christian  education  for  its  local  offi- 
cials. "And  this,"  says  the  Bishop,  "is  what  should 
be." 

Under  Great  Britain : 

Great  Britain  as  such  has  no  attitude  towards  Islam. 
Clearly  the  British  colonial  and  foreign  offices  profess  no 
one  principle  that  guides  them  in  all  their  dealings  with 
the  Moslem  peoples  in  the  many  parts  of  the  world  where 
the  Union  Jaok  flies  among  Mohammedan  peoples. 
Everything  depends  on  the  attitude  of  the  local  govern- 
ment and  that  varies  strangely,  as  we  shall  now  see. 

(a)  India.  I  have  no  special  report  from  this  coun- 
try, but  have  no  reason  to  believe  that  there  is  anything 
in  the  attitude  of  the  Indian  government  that  calls  for 
serious  protest.  The  present  political  situation  makes 
Indian  Moslems  very  markedly  loyal  to  Great  Britain, 
and  this  fact  no  doubt  makes  the  Indian  government 
very  willing  to  avoid  offending  Moslems.  But  as  far  as 
I  am  aware  the  same  liberties  are  given  to  missionaries 
to  work  among  Moslems  as  among  Hindus.  The  trouble 
seems  to  be  rather  that  our  missions  have  not  fully  availed 
themselves  and  still  do  not  avail  themselves  of  the  lib- 
erties that  actually  exist. 


Islam  Under  Christian  Rule  20 1 

(&)  Arabia.  Dr.  Young  writes  :  "In  its  desire  to  be 
neutral  and  to  save  annoyance,  the  government  (of  Aden) 
appears  at  times  to  be  even  friendly  to  Islam.  It  seems 
to  confirm  the  followers  of  Islam  in  their  belief  that  all 
other  religions  are  subservient  to  it. 

u  Government  attitude  largely  depends  on  the  Political 
Eesident  who  may  or  may  not  be  in  sympathy  with  the 
work.  I  should  like  to  see  the  government  neutral  in  all 
matters  of  education.  At  present  it  pays  a  teacher  in  all 
its  schools  who  does  nothing  but  teach  children  how  to 
recite  and  intone  the  Koran.  They  have  a  bad  effect  on 
the  Koran  reading  children,  who  are  apt  to  persecute  their 
non-Moslem  schoolfellows.  If  the  government  were  firm 
in  its  attitude,  any  opposition  at  first  engendered  would 
quickly  disappear." 

(c)  Egypt.  We  must  remember  here  that  Great 
Britain  is  not  the  de  jure  ruler  of  Egypt  and  this  naturally 
and  rightly  makes  a  difference  in  her  de  facto  attitude. 
She  only  advises  a  Moslem  government — a  ministry  un- 
der an  independent  Moslem  prince  named  the  Khedive. 
Consequently  she  regards  Moslem  acts  of  the  Moslem  gov- 
ernment as  not  her  own  acts. 

I  therefore  pass  over  the  vexed  question  of  Sunday 
labour  ;  it  is  admittedly  a  terribly  difficult  one,  and  is  not 
made  easier  by  the  obvious  indifference  of  many  British 
officials  about  their  duties  towards  God  and  the  worship 
of  His  House.  But  the  point  in  which  Britain  can  fairly 
be  severely  criticized  is  in  the  matter  of  religious  educa- 
tion. Here  Britain  is  responsible,  for  she  has  the  power 
to  alter  the  present  system. 

Until  a  few  years  ago  that  system  reached  the  very  ne 
plus  ultra  of  injustice.  In  the  primary  schools  the  Coptic 
boys  who  numbered  on  the  average  a  quarter  of  the 
whole,  and  in  some  schools  in  Middle  Egypt  nearly  a 
half,  were  allowed  no  religious  instruction  j  while  the 


2O2  Islam  and  Missions 

Moslem  boys  were  given  religious  instruction,  paid  for  by 
the  state  from  the  revenue,  to  which  the  Copts  of  course 
contributed,  and  contributed  a  larger  percentage  probably 
than  their  percentage  to  population.  Finally,  the  Coptic 
boys  had  to  sit  in  the  room  and  hear  (though  not  take 
part  in)  the  Moslem  religious  lesson  !  No  comment  is 
necessary.  No  wonder  the  educated  part  of  the  Coptic 
nation  was  lapsing  into  infidelity,  indifference,  or  semi- 
Islamism  ! 

However,  just  before  Lord  Cromer  left  Egypt  a  change 
for  the  better  was  made.  The  religious  hour  was  put  at 
the  end  of  the  day,  and  the  right  of  entry  was  given  to 
Coptic  religious  instructors  to  teach  Coptic  boys  at  the 
expense  of  the  Coptic  community.  But  the  lesson  was 
not  compulsory  ;  only  those  who  applied  for  it  got  it, 
and  unless  a  certain  proportion  of  the  parents  applied  for 
it,  it  could  not  be  given  at  all. 

But  a  serious  injustice  still  remains.  "Why  should  the 
Copts,  who  contribute  their  full  share  of  the  taxes  out  of 
which  the  Moslem  teachers  in  these  schools  are  paid, 
have  further  to  pay  Christian  teachers  of  religion? 
Why  should  not  the  state  pay  both,  or  neither  ? 

Again,  why  should  this  instruction  be  compulsory  for 
Moslems,  optional  for  Christians  ? 

Again,  why  should  the  state  run  training-schools  for 
Sheikhs,  and  elementary  schools  for  children,  from  both 
of  which  Christians  are  excluded  though  the  Copts  pay 
their  share  of  the  taxes  which  support  those  schools,  and 
while  the  Christians  have  no  such  state-aided  elementary 
or  training-schools  ? 

These  three  iniquitous  conditions  should  be  instantly 
remedied.  They  are  indefensible.  The  only  reason  why 
nothing  is  done  is,  once  again,  fear.  For  a  long  time 
the  British  agent  feared  to  take  even  the  first  obvious 
step  to  remedy  the  worst  iniquity.  And  yet  when  he 


Islam  Under  Christian  Rule  203 

made  the  plunge  the  fears  were  seen  to  be  groundless. 
But  the  lesson  of  this  is  one  which  it  seems  British  of- 
ficials find  it  impossible  to  learn  thoroughly. 

(d)  The  Sudan.  Here  the  British  government  has 
practically  the  sole  and  supreme  control.  In  the  Moslem 
part  of  the  Sudan  it  has  thought  right  to  forbid  the  hold- 
ing of  any  sort  of  gospel  meeting,  fearing  the  effect  it 
might  have  on  the  Sudanese.  Britain  has  been  adminis- 
tering the  Sudan  for  twelve  years,  and  the  embargo  has 
not  yet  been  withdrawn.  The  Gordon  College  which  was 
founded  by  the  free-will  offerings  of  British  people  in 
memory  of  Gordon  is  now  a  purely  Moslem  college.  The 
Moslem  religion  is  taught  in  it  at  the  expense  of  the 
state.  I  do  not  know  whether  there  are  any  Christians 
who  might  wish  to  take  advantage  of  the  instruction  in 
secular  subjects  provided  at  Gordon  College  ;  I  have  heard 
it  asserted  that  such  students  even  if  they  entered  could 
not  receive  any  Christian  instruction.  If  this  is  so,  it  is 
another  iniquity,  made  all  the  greater  by  the  name  of  the 
great  Christian  man  after  whom  the  college  is  called. 

In  the  Pagan  Sudan  the  government  gives  some  facili- 
ties for  missions,  though  the  missionaries  have  com- 
plained of  the  slowness  and  timidity  of  their  policy. 
But  its  effect  is  probably  neutralized  by  the  pro-Islamic 
influence  of  the  army  upon  the  pagan  recruits  who 
join  it.  At  the  Edinburgh  Conference  Mr.  Kelly  Giffen, 
the  American  missionary,  is  reported  as  having  re- 
lated a  conversation  with  an  English  official,  who  said 
to  him,  "Why  do  you  do  mission  work  among  Mos- 
lems? You  might  as  well  give  it  up — 'we  make '  ten 
Moslems  to  your  one  Christian!"  If  he  really  said 
these  words  they  must  refer  to  the  observed — I  will  not 
say  calculated — result  of  the  whole  policy  of  the  gov- 
ernment. Here  we  have  the  very  opposite  of  the  Dutch 
policy  in  the  East  Indies. 


204  Islam  and  Missions 

(e)  East  Africa.  Bishop  Peel  reports  that  the  gov- 
ernment in  British  East  Africa  is  'neutral,  and  that  its 
attitude  largely  depends  on  the  personality  of  the  offi- 
cials, but  that  for  the  last  ten  years  all  mission  work 
has  been  well  supported  by  government. 

(/)  British  Central  Africa.  Islam  is  making  way 
here,  but  I  am  not  aware  of  the  attitude  of  government 
in  the  face  of  this  fact. 

(#)  South  Africa.  For  the  sake  of  completeness  South 
Africa  with  its  50,000  Moslems  must  be  mentioned. 
But  they  do  not  make  a  noticeable  enough  element  in 
South  Africa,  I  am  informed,1  to  call  for  comment 
here.  Where  Moslems  are  not  formidable  they  get  no 
notice  taken  of  them  by  the  British  government. 

(h)  Sierra  Leone.  Mr.  Garrett  writes  :  "  The  policy 
of  the  British  government  towards  Mohammedans  in 
Sierra  Leone  is  called  neutrality.  This  is,  however, 
certainly  a  mistake,  as  Mohammedan  schools  are  aided 
admittedly  on  different  lines  from  others.  ...  I 
would  like  to  see  neutrality  thrown  away  and  tolerant 
Christianity  encouraged.  This  can  be  brought  about 
by  the  arrival  of  out-and-out  Christian  statesmen."  Mr. 
Garrett  also  thinks  the  present  policy  of  neutrality  with 
special  consideration  for  Mohammedans  will  end  in 
"  failure  and  contumely."  He  calls  the  impartiality  of 
the  government  a  spurious  one. 

(i)  Nigeria.  It  is  probably  here  where  the  British 
government  is  seen  at  its  weakest  and  its  policy  most 
mistaken.  Dr.  Miller,  of  Hausaland,  has  repeatedly 
criticized  the  attitude  of  British  officials,  and  very 
strong  things  were  said  on  this  subject  at  the  Edin- 
burgh Conference.  Christians  and  pagans,  it  was  said, 
are  consistently  made  to  feel  by  British  officials  that 

1  By  Mr.  Clinton  J.  Wood,  who  has  recently  made  a  special  and 
fall  study  of  the  subject. 


Islam  Under  Christian  Rule  205 

they  are  not  wanted  ;  that  the  country  is  not  for  them  ; 
that  work  would  always  go  to  Moslems.  Moslem  cere- 
monies have  respect  elaborately  paid  to  them,  Moslem 
prejudices  are  yielded  to,  Moslem  customs  strengthened 
and  upheld.  More  serious  still,  Christian  missions  are 
unsympathetically  regarded,  and  their  advance  thwarted. 
Actually  the  leave  of  the  Moslem  chief  has  to  be  ob- 
tained before  the  mission  can  be  carried  into  his  ter- 
ritory. And,  perhaps,  more  serious  still,  the  govern- 
ment refuses  to  give  a  really  enlightened  system  of 
education  to  the  people,  but  bolsters  up  the  old  useless 
Koranic  system,  flatters  the  Sheikhs,  and  refuses  to  allow 
the  missionaries  perfect  freedom  to  open  schools  with 
an  enlightened  system  of  education. 

On  the  other  hand  the  Moslems  can  go  anywhere  and 
make  as  many  proselytes  as  they  please.  What  wonder 
that  the  Mohammedans  think  that  the  government  is 
simply  running  the  country  for  them  ;  that  they  are 
the  only  people ;  that  British  officials  are  afraid  of  them, 
and  have  implicitly  declared  the  superiority  of  Islam. 
Such  policy  can  bring  nothing  but  difficulty  and  dis- 
aster in  the  future.  It  is  cowardly  and  unchristian  ; 
it  is  not  even  neutral.  It  ought  to  be  wholly  changed. 
The  British  official  may  one  day  see  that  all  this  sub- 
servience to  the  Moslem  and  neglect  of  his  own  faith 
gains  him  neither  the  respect,  gratitude,  nor  affection 
of  the  people,  but  the  very  reverse  of  all  three. 


XV 

MOSLEM  ADVANCE  IN  INDIA 
REV.  JOHN  TAKLE,  BENGAL 

THE  pagan  races  of  India  have  suffered  much 
from  invaders,  but  most  from  the  raids  made 
at  different  times  by  the  hordes  of  Moslem 
freebooters  that  swept  down  from  Central  Asia  into 
their  midst  bent  on  conquest.  These  races  are  supposed 
to  have  "let  the  legions  thunder  past,  then  plunged  in 
thought  again,"  but  they  never  regained  the  position 
they  had  before  the  invasion.  With  the  coming  of  the 
Arabs  in  the  eighth  century  a  new  epoch  in  India's 
history  was  begun.  They  were  followed  by  the  Huns, 
Turks,  Afghans  and  Moguls,  and  with  their  advent 
Islam  made  mighty  inroads  upon  the  districts  where 
they  came. 

Was  the  progress  made  by  fair  or  foul  means ;  was 
it  the  result  of  belief  born  of  conviction,  or  of  a  propa- 
ganda emphasized  by  force  and  persecution  I  Most  will 
agree  that  progress  first  came  through  conquest  and 
amalgamation ;  it  was  a  growth  largely  due  to  the 
Moslems  marrying  the  women  of  the  land.  The  inva- 
ders had  large  battalions  of  men,  but  very  few  women 
of  their  own  nationality  and  faith,  hence  the  necessity 
of  finding  wives  from  amongst  the  Indian  people.  The 
men  settled  down  and  established  towns  and  villages ; 
thousands  of  half-breeds  were  born  and  this  mixed  race 
intermarried  with  the  newcomers  and  the  natives.  In 
this  way  the  crescent  with  its  sickly  light  began  to  move 
across  the  Indian  sky  to  its  first  quarter. 

206 


Moslem  Advance  in  India  207 

With  strength  of  numbers  and  with  a  stake  in  the 
land  the  colonists  set  themselves  to  further  the  cause 
of  Islam  j  and  their  efforts  in  this  direction  were 
strengthened  by  the  fanatical  crusaders  who  period- 
ically appeared  from  over  the  border.  Their  bigot  zeal 
increased.  It  bred  iconoclasm  and  persecution,  and 
these  became  the  motive-power  in  bringing  over  mul- 
titudes to  the  standard  of  Mohammed. 

The  facts  of  history  covering  the  period  from  the 
tenth  to  the  seventeenth  centuries  bear  out  this  state- 
ment. Mahmud  of  Ghazui  (1001-1036  A.  D.)  is  said  to 
have  copied  Korans  "for  the  health  of  his  soul,"  bat 
he  also  made  at  least  sixteen  campaigns  in  India,  cap- 
turing cities  and  palaces  and  throwing  down  temples 
and  idols,  doubtless  for  the  same  reason.  A  story  is 
told  of  two  owls  that  wished  long  life  to  so  diligent  a 
creator  of  ruins.  In  1200  A.  D.,  when  the  Mohammed- 
ans became  victorious  in  Bengal,  their  Viceroy  first 
showed  his  authority  by  "  the  demolishing  of  temples 
and  the  building  of  mosques."  *  In  the  thirteenth  and 
fourteenth  centuries  there  were  forced  conversions  in 
Bengal,  and  Jallal  ud  din  stands  out  a  most  uncompromis- 
ing bigot  and  persecutor.  The  only  conditions  he  of- 
fered were  the  Koran  or  death,  and  it  is  said  that 
rather  than  submit  to  such  terms  many  of  the  Hindus 
of  Bengal  fled  to  Kamrup  in  Assam  and  to  the  jungles 
of  Cachar. 

In  the  fifteenth  century  a  regular  officer  was  appointed 
in  Gujerat  to  destroy  the  temples.  All  Hindus  were 
branded  on  the  arm  and  compelled  to  wear  coloured  gar- 
ments. Failure  to  comply  meant  death.2  The  sixteenth 

»• 

1  The  Viceroy,  Bakhtyar  Kiliji  (1203  A.  D.),  mentioned  in  the  Per- 
sian history,  "  Riyaz  us  Salatin." 

•From  Mirat  i  Sikandari,  quoted  in  "The  History  of  Gujerat," 
by  Bayley,  pp.  439-40. 


208  Islam  and  Missions 

century  saw  parts  of  Orissa  swept  by  a  similar  invasion, 
when  the  Moslems  "stabled  their  horses  in  the  Hindu 
palaces,  and  tore  down  the  great  temples  stone  by  stone 
to  build  residences  for  their  chiefs. "  l 

Aurungzeb's  methods  are  well  known.  Every  temple 
he  set  eyes  on  had  to  be  turned  into  a  mosque,  and  every 
religious  mendicant  of  every  sect  of  Hinduism  he  ordered 
to  be  driven  out  of  Hindustan. 

The  Afghan  invaders  (1739-1761  A.  D.)  were  just  as 
ready  in  the  use  of  force.  Wherever  they  marched  their 
route  was  marked  with  the  charred  remains  of  villages — 
a  route  made  also  red  with  blood.2 

It  will  be  seen  then  that  most  of  the  Moslem  rulers 
were  more  than  conquerors.  They  were  "religious 
knight- errants"  of  Islam.  Their  aim  was  not  the  mere 
capture  of  territory,  but  temples  ;  their  rallying  cry  was 
not  country  but  creed.  Timur  (1398  A.  D.)  made  no 
secret  of  this  fact.  He  said,  "My  object  in  the  invasion 
of  Hindustan  is  to  lead  a  campaign  against  the  infidels  to 
convert  them  to  the  true  faith,  according  to  the  command 
of  Mohammed  to  purify  the  land  from  the  defilement  of 
misbelief  and  polytheism,  and  overthrow  the  temples  and 
idols,  whereby  we  shall  become  champions  and  soldiers 
of  the  faith  before  God."  3 

With  such  a  line  of  persecution  running  through  the 
centuries,  it  is  easily  imagined  how  multitudes  of  Hindus 
would  turn  rather  than  suffer  the  penalty  of  death  or 

1  Hunter,   " Orissa." 

•  Teiffenthaler,  a  Tyrolese  Jesuit  priest  who  saw  something  of  their 
methods,  says,  "  They  burned  the  houses  together  with  their  inmates, 
slaughtering  others  with  the  sword  and  the  lance  ;  haling  off  into 
captivity  maidens,  youth,  men  and  women.  In  the  temples  they 
slaughtered  cows  and  smeared  the  images  and  pavement  with  the 
blood  "  (Hunter's  "History  of  India,"  p.  177). 

3 Lane  Poole,  "  Medieval  India,"  p.  155. 


Moslem  Advance  in  India  209 

disgrace.  But  persecution  appeared  in  many  shapes. 
Perhaps  the  persecution  felt  most  keenly  by  the  people, 
because  more  lasting  and  more  closely  connected  with 
their  daily  life,  was  that  produced  by  political  coercion. 
Hindu  rulers  and  zemindars  could  retain  their  authority 
only  on  condition  that  they  embraced  Islam.  Hindu 
princes  were  forcibly  circumcised,  and  officials  in  the 
service  of  the  Mogul  government  had  to  become  Moslems 
with  their  wives,  or  suffer  dismissal. 

Then  there  was  instituted  a  capitation  tax  on  non- 
Moslems  called  Jizya.  Virtually,  it  was  the  revival  of 
the  old  system  of  giving  the  alternative  of  accepting  the 
Koran,  paying  tribute,  or  extermination.  It  was  the 
lawful  price  of  toleration.  Piruz  Shah  Tughlak  (1351- 
1388  A.  D.),  who  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  the  most 
lenient  of  Moslem  rulers,  says  in  his  autobiography,  "I 
encouraged  my  infidel  subjects  to  embrace  the  religion  of 
the  prophet  and  I  proclaimed  that  every  one  who  repeated 
the  creed  and  became  a  Mussulman  should  be  exempt 
from  the  Jizya  or  poll-tax.  Information  of  this  came  to 
the  ears  of  the  people  at  large  and  great  numbers  of 
Hindus  presented  themselves,  and  were  admitted  to  the 
honour  of  Islam.  Thus  they  came  forward  day  by  day 
from  every  quarter,  and  adopting  the  faith  were  exoner- 
ated from  the  Jizya,  and  were  favoured  with  presents 
and  honours."  But  it  was  not  the  tax  that  did  so  much 
injury  as  the  way  in  which  it  was  imposed  and  collected. 
The  revenue  officers  were  looked  upon  in  the  same  way  as 
plague  and  famine  and  fever.  If  the  officers  wished  1 1  to 
spit  in  their  mouths  "  the  people  had  to  submit.  Such 
humiliation  (which,  of  course,  made  men  outcasts)  was 
"  to  promote  the  glory  of  Islam,  the  true  religion  and  the 
contempt  for  false  religion."1 

1  "  Tarikb  i  Firuz  Shah,"  p.  290.  This  is  also  graphically  told  in 
Begali  rhyme  by  a  Hindu,  Bijoy  Gupta,  in  "Padma  Purana." 


2 1  o  Islam  and  Missions 

Aurungzeb  imposed  the  poll-tax  according  to  scale. 
Manucca,  who  was  at  the  Mogul  court,  says,  "  Great  mer- 
chants paid  thirteen  and  a  half  rupees,  the  middle  class 
six  and  a  quarter  rupees  and  the  poor  three  and  a  half  every 
year."  This  was  done  "to  force  the  Hindus  to  become 
Mohammedans."1  Many  appealed  to  Aurungzeb  to  do 
away  with  the  tax.  His  own  sister,  Begum  Sahib,  went 
on  her  knees  before  him  and  begged  him  to  consider  his 
subjects,  but  he  replied  that  he  had  the  best  of  examples 
in  the  Prophet  Mohammed,  who  had  to  adopt  similar 
taxation  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  idolaters  to  their 
senses.2 

Pressure  of  taxation  was  put  upon  non- Moslems  in 
many  other  ways,  particularly  in  the  doubling  of  customs 
duties.3  It  is  not  surprising  then  that  Manucca  should 
say  that  "Many  Hindus  become  Mohammedans,  spurred 
by  ambition  or  interest,  and  such  are  constantly  to  be  met 
with."  * 

Another  method  adopted  by  the  Moslem  was  that  of 
forcing  men  to  break  their  caste,  thus  placing  them  hope- 
lessly outside  the  pale  of  Hindu  society.  Jallal  ud  din 
forced  many  a  Hindu  to  eat  beef.  In  the  Chittagong 
district  of  East  Bengal,  there  is  a  community  of  Moham- 

1  Nicolas  Manncca  in  "  Storia  Do  Mogor,"  Vol.  Ill,  p.  290. 

'Ibid.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  288. 

8  Manucca  tells  us  that  two  and  a  half  per  cent,  was  levied  upon  the 
goods  of  Moslems  but  non-Moslema  were  charged  five  per  cent.  In  the 
history  of  the  Moslem  occupation  of  Greece  about  the  same  period, 
the  same  taxation  was  adopted  and  exactly  the  same  per  centage 
charged  upon  Moslems  and  non-Moslems  there.  There  was  also  the 
same  kind  of  capitation -tax,  and  Finlay  in  his  "  History  of  Greece  ' ' 
says  that  in  the  reign  of  Suleiman  the  Legislator,  "  This  tax  yielded  a 
revenue  of  seventeen  million  of  piastres,  while  the  whole  revenue  of 
the  empire  only  amounted  to  twenty- seven  million  or  about  £6,000,- 
000  sterling." 

4  Manucca,  Vol.  II,  p.  452  and  additional  notes. 


Moslem  Advance  in  India  2 1 1 

medans  who  are  descendants  of  a  high  caste  Hindu  who 
lost  caste  through  being  forced  to  smell  a  savoury  meal  of 
steak  and  onions. 

Has  direct  preaching  had  much  to  do  with  conversion 
to  Islam  I  There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the  preaching 
and  practice  of  a  brotherhood  in  Islam  have  had  some  in- 
fluence in  turning  thousands  of  the  depressed  masses  of 
Hinduism  to  Islam.  They  were  taught  that  men  in  Islam 
were  equals,  every  man  being  entitled  to  an  individuality 
and  dignity  quite  unknown  in  the  teaching  of  Hinduism. 
They  were  assured  that  entry  into  Mohammedanism  meant 
social  salvation  for  the  "  untouchable. "  There  were  un- 
dreamed-of possibilities.  Had  not  a  slave,  who  had  been 
a  water-carrier,  risen  to  be  the  adviser  of  a  Sultan  and 
on  the  death  of  the  latter  been  promoted  to  the  throne ! 
It  was  not  the  doctrine  of  divine  unity  they  wanted  so 
much  as  human  unity.  True,  they  would  be  emancipated 
from  the  eternal  nightmare  of  their  living  and  dying  with 
no  apparent  end  to  the  migrations,  but  this  did  not  con- 
cern them  so  much  as  the  emancipation  from  the  disabili- 
ties of  caste. 

As  a  result  of  the  medieval  methods  of  persecution 
and  of  the  occasional  mass  movements  away  from  the 
helotism  of  caste,  we  have  all  over  India  to-day  the 
descendants  of  the  converts  made.  Some  time  ago,  one 
authority  was  of  the  opinion  that  only  five  million  of  the 
Mohammedans  in  India  represent  the  classes  once 
dominant  in  the  land.1  The  anthropometric  survey  made 
by  government  proves  conclusively  that  the  vast  majority 
of  the  Mohammedans  in  India  are  converts  from  among 
the  depressed  Hindu  communities.  These  converts  are  to 
be  known,  too,  in  the  way  they  retain  caste  designa- 
tions, certain  idolatrous  practices,  tribal  restrictions, 
superstitions  and  social  usages.  If  they  were  of  foreign 

lStrachey,  "  India,"  p.  223. 


2 1 2  Islam  and  Missions 

descent  they  would  never  lower  themselves  to  such  prac- 
tices.1 

High  caste  Hindus  have  contributed  but  a  small  quota 
to  Islam.  For  one  reason  they  do  not  stand  in  need  of 
social  salvation  and  status.  Prestige  would  be  lost  by 
their  joining  such  a  cosmopolitan  brotherhood.  And  is 
there  not  that  in  the  doctrine  of  Islam  that  repels  the 
cultured  Hindu  ?  He  thinks  of  God  manifesting  Himself 
in  various  ways  and  in  all  places.  His  idols  preach  to 
him,  indirectly,  the  truth  that  deity  may  be  with  him  on 
the  street,  in  his  house,  wherever  he  may  be — an  idea  al- 
together foreign  to  Islam.  In  Hinduism  we  have  some- 
thing of  the  warm  nearness  of  immanence,  while  in  the 
other  the  cold  abstraction  of  bald  transcendence. 

The  Mohammedans  are  rather  spasmodic  in  direct 
preaching  efforts.  They  have  a  few  regular  preachers 
who  give  much  of  their  time  to  trying  to  convince  the 
Hindus  of  the  error  of  their  way.  Within  the  past  twenty- 
five  years  perhaps  every  district  of  Bengal  has  been  visited 
by  such  preachers,  and  from  the  stir  made  at  the  time  one 
would  imagine  that  the  whole  population  was  about  to 
swear  allegiance  to  the  prophet,  but  the  stir  soon  fizzled 
out.  Moslem  laymen  also  engage  in  proselytizing  effort.2 
The  average  Moslem  layman  is  ever  ready  to  repeat  his 
simple  creed  and  impress  upon  any  one  he  may  meet  the 
fact  that  his  religion  is  of  God. 

Although  the  visible  efforts  to  proselytize  are  few,  still 
there  is  a  substantial  increase  in  the  Moslem  figures  every 

1  See  Indian  Census  Eeports,  and  Hunter's  ' '  Statistical  Account  of 
Bengal." 

8  Arnold,  in  "  The  Preaching  of  Islam,"  tells  of  laymen  who  devote 
their  leisure  hours  each  day  to  preaching.  Amongst  them  he  had 
heard  of  "government  clerks  in  the  Canal  and  Opium  Departments; 
traders,  including  a  dealer  in  camel  carts,  an  editor  of  a  newspaper, 
a  bookbinder,  and  a  workman  in  a  printing  establishment." 


Moslem  Advance  in  India  213 

decade.  Take  the  census  figures  for  Bengal.  In  1871 
there  were  seventeen  millions  of  Hindus  and  about  sixteen 
and  a  half  millions  of  Mohammedans,  but  in  1901  there 
were  eighteen  millions  of  Hindus  and  little  over  nineteen 
and  a  half  millions  of  Mohammedans.  So  that  in  the 
space  of  thirty  years  the  latter,  who  were  at  the  start  in 
the  minority  of  half  a  million,  had  not  only  gained  on  the 
Hindus  but  came  out  with  a  lead  of  a  million  and  a  half. 
On  the  basis  of  these  figures,  Lieut. -Col.  U.  N.  Mukerjee, 
of  the  Indian  Medical  Service,  has  written  a  booklet  en- 
titled, "A  Dying  Bace,"  in  which  he  maintains  that  in 
Bengal  the  future  is  with  the  Mohammedans  while  the 
Hindus  are  "  waiting  for  extinction." 

How  is  the  increase  in  the  number  of  Mohammedans  to 
be  accounted  for?  Certainly  not  in  the  practice  of 
polygamy,  for  only  twenty-nine  in  every  thousand  of  the 
Bengal  Mohammedans  have  more  than  one  wife.  At  the 
CCDSUS  in  1901,  an  inquiry  was  made  into  the  reasons  for 
conversion,  and  in  the  report  we  are  given  an  appendix 
of  nine  foolscap  pages  containing  notes  on  specific  cases. 
From  these  it  is  evident  that  conviction  does  not  play  a 
prominent  part  in  the  reason  why.  Everywhere  the  con- 
verts confess  ulterior  motives  in  joining  Islam.  The  re- 
port from  the  district  around  Calcutta  is  typical.  Forty 
cases  were  inquired  into  and  reported  upon  as  follows  : 
twenty-three  conversions  were  the  result  of  "love"  epi- 
sodes and  elopements.  Seven  were  reported  as  becoming 
Moslems  "owing  to  straightened  circumstances,"  whilst 
the  conversions  of  the  remaining  ten  are  variously  ex- 
plained. I  have  made  careful  inquiries  from  mission- 
aries in  various  parts  and  they  say  that  nearly  all  the 
conversions  they  know  of  might  be  classed  in  the  same 
way. 

Mukerjee,  in  the  book  mentioned  above,  does  not  look 
upon  these  conversions  as  being  lapses  from  morality,  as 


214  Islam  and  Missions 

on  the  surface  they  would  appear  to  be,  but  as  the  inevi- 
table result  of  present  economic  conditions.  I  can  here 
give  but  one  instance.  Amongst  certain  low  castes, 
widow  marriage  was  prevalent  years  ago,  but  now  it  is 
looked  on  with  disfavour  mainly  because  the  men  are  too 
poor  to  keep  two  wives.  The  women  must  live.  Their 
relatives  cannot  keep  them.  Shall  they  go  out  into  the 
world  as  disreputable  characters  or  as  wives  or  concubines 
of  the  Moslems  f  Which  are  they  to  choose  ?  Certainly, 
to  throw  in  their  lot  with  the  Moslems  seems  to  be  the 
more  worthy.  The  men,  too,  finding  greater  openings 
for  labour  join  the  Mohammedan  community. 

Having  thus  understood  something  of  the  reasons  for 
the  Moslem  growth  we  may  be  better  able  to  think  out 
measures  to  meet  the  advance. 

We  cannot  adopt  all  the  tactics  of  the  Moslems,  though 
sometimes  Europeans  in  an  outburst  of  impatience  have 
urged  force  in  converting  to  Christianity.1  Compulsion 
and  Christianity  are  incompatible.  Meredith  Townsend 
is  more  to  the  point  when  he  says,  "  India,  unless  all  is 
changed  by  the  intervention  of  some  new  force,  must  be- 
come a  Mohammedan  country.  .  .  .  The  intervening 
spiritual  force  which  ought  to  prevent  this  is,  of  course, 
Christianity."  2  His  contention  is  reasonable  and  it  be- 
hooves all  missionaries  working  in  Moslem  areas  to  se- 
riously set  themselves  to  make  this  spiritual  force  felt. 
How  are  we  to  do  this  $ 

1In  a  recent  book,  "  The  Native  Clergy  in  Heathen  Lands,"  by  a 
German  Jesnit  named  Rounder,  we  find  an  advocate  of  the  use  of  force. 
He  says,  "  Clovis  and  Charlemagne  (who  drove  the  heathen  Saxons  in 
masses  into  the  Elbe  for  baptism)  have  been  more  effective  pioneers  of 
Christianity  than  thousands  of  native  and  foreign  missionaries.  They 
were  God-sent  apostles  of  a  peculiar  type.  God  closely  binds  the  use 
of  the  sword  to  the  religious  development  of  a  people.  "—Quotation 
from  Record  of  Christian  Work  for  October,  1910. 

2  Meredith  Townsend,  "  East  and  Europe." 


Moslem  Advance  in  India  215 

1.  There  is  need  for  an  enlargement  of  specialist  forces. 
In  India  there  are  62,458,077  Mohammedans,  according 
to  the  census  of  1901.     Of  these  over  one-third  live  in 
Bengal,  yet  there  is  not  one  missionary  to  my  knowledge 
in  that  vast  territory  who  has  been  definitely  set  apart  for 
Mohammedan  work.     The  few  workers  who  are  there, 
numbering  perhaps  one  to  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  the 
whole  community,  are  busy  with  every  branch  of  mis- 
sionary activity  in  addition  to  executive  work,  and  have 
little  time  to  specialize. 

2.  We  need  to  work  proportionately  and  specially 
amongst  Hindu  and  Mohammedan  communities.     India 
differs  from  so  many  other  lands.     Most  of  us  Indian 
missionaries  are  working  "on  the  frontier-line  between 
Islam  and  Paganism."     The  danger  has  been  that  some 
of  us  finding  the  work  amongst  Moslems  exceedingly 
hard,  have  followed  the  line  of  least  resistance  and  given 
our  whole  attention  to  the  Hindus.     In  face  of  the  facts 
of  the  Moslem  advance,  should  we  not  so  organize  our 
work  that  we  may  reach  both  communities  in  a  system- 
atic and  special  manner  t    We  must  be  ready  to  extend 
a  helping  hand  to  the  Moslem  and  also  to  those  among 
the  pagan  races  who  are  ready  to  enter  a  new  brother- 
hood. 

In  Eastern  Bengal,  many  of  the  missionaries  have  been 
keenly  interested  in  the  social  awakening  amongst  a  cer- 
tain community  of  low  caste  Hindus,  called  Namasudras. 
These  people  are  feeling  out  after  improvement,  enlight- 
enment and  higher  social  status,  and  we  have  been  trying 
to  capture  the  movement  for  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  For 
a  time  there  was  a  rumour  to  the  effect  that  they  were 
going  over  to  Islam  in  a  body.  That  is  not  true,  but  it 
seems  to  me  that  before  long  they  will  have  to  go  some- 
where, for  the  reforms  they  are  adopting  will  make  them 
outcasts.  The  Mohammedans,  doubtless,  cherish  a  wish 


2 1 6  Islam  and  Missions 

that  they  will  get  the  whole  crowd,  but  if  we  are  wise 
that  cannot  happen ;  our  work  is  to  forestall  them.  I 
suppose  there  are  many  such  movements  in  different  parts 
of  India  to-day,  and  they  illustrate  the  necessity  of  hav- 
ing specialists  on  the  frontier-line,  some  to  deal  with  the 
Moslems,  while  others  lead  the  awakening  pagan  peoples 
into  the  paths  of  righteousness. 

3.  There  is  a  difficulty.  We  cannot  colonize  nor 
amalgamate  in  India.  Our  stay  in  the  land  is  brief, 
while  here,  it  is  not  easy  to  overcome  racial  repulsion. 
It  is  perhaps  harder  for  the  people  than  for  us.  Hence 
the  need  for  Indian  Christian  specialists  to  work  in  both 
communities. 

The  Moslem  propagandist  is  Asiatic  ;  we  are  not.  He 
can  ingratiate  himself  with  the  people  ;  he  can  make 
himself  one  with  them  in  every  detail  of  social  life  ;  he 
will  give  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  the  convert,  and 
while  we  are  learning  to  speak  the  language,  he  grows 
into  their  very  life.  Should  we  not  encourage  the  Indian 
Christian  workers  to  fit  themselves  in  with  things  more 
than  they  do  I  The  Moslem  propagandist  is  a  keen  itin- 
erant ;  why  should  not  our  preachers  and  catechists  move 
about  among  the  people  with  less  show  of  the  European 
tent  and  boat  ?  Martyn  Clark  says  that  as  ninety-five 
per  cent,  of  the  people  live  in  villages,  "  It  were  wisdom 
to  learn  from  the  Moslem  monarchs,  who  propagated 
Islam  in  the  villages  ;  their  power  perished,  but  their  re- 
ligion remained."  l  Then,  would  it  not  be  a  suitable 
recommendation  to  the  mission  colleges  that  those  stu- 
dents, who  are  being  trained  for  work  in  areas  where 
large  numbers  of  Mohammedans  live,  be  specially 
equipped  with  a  knowledge  of  Islam,  and  be  required  to 
study  Urdu,  the  lingua  franca  of  all  Indian  Mohammed- 
ans? In  some  colleges  something  has  been  attempted, 
1  Martyn  Clark,  "  Robert  Clark  of  the  Pan  jab,"  p.  264. 


Moslem  Advance  in  India  217 

but  has  it  been  with  an  emphasis  on  the  seriousness  of  the 
Moslem  problem  ? 

4.  The    methods    of  approach   should  be  carefully 
planned.     Preaching    we   must    continue   with  greater 
sympathy,  with  a  quicker  perception  of  the  point  of  con- 
tact and  with  a  fuller  knowledge  of  the  dialect  the  people 
speak.     The  Gospel  must  be  spoken  in  the  terms  of  the 
Moslem.     There  must  be  less  of  the  combatant  in  us  and 
more  of  the  wooer.     By  that  I  do  not  mean  that  we  should 
not  argue.     Controversy  we  cannot  always  avoid,  and 
sometimes,  I  think,  we  should  court  it  when  it  is  likely 
to  be  helpful  to  the  listeners  standing  round.     I  have 
sometimes  wondered  whether  it  would  be  possible  to  ar- 
range  periodically   for   two  or  three  workers  to  visit 
special  Moslem  districts  and  hold  a  mission  for  Moslems 
supported  by  the  missionaries  of  the  different  societies  in 
the  districts  visited.     If  the  addresses  delivered  at  such  a 
mission  could  afterwards  be  printed  in  English  and  the 
vernaculars  immense  good  might  be  the  result. 

Literature  we  should  produce  in  the  vernaculars 
with  still  greater  zeal.  Our  opponents  make  much  of 
this  method  of  propaganda.  I  feel  that  our  apologetic 
literature  for  Moslems  should  explain  more  directly  and 
fully  the  erroneous  ideas  that  they  have  been  taught  con- 
cerning our  faith.  Then  we  need  books  to  influence 
those  who  have  been  convinced  by  our  evidential  works  ; 
books  explaining  the  inner  meaning  of  our  Lord's  teach- 
ing. 

We  must  encourage  schools  and  especially  Western 
education.  Many  a  Moslem  has  had  his  faith  shaken  by 
learning  English.  The  Western  school-book  makes  belief 
in  an  Eastern  sacred  book  most  difficult. 

5.  The  Koran  should  become  an  aid.     The  Moslem 
advance  might  be  further  checked  by  using  the  Koran 
more  in  our  work.     We  should  turn  their  own  book, 


218  Islam  and  Missions 

Islam's  supreme  weapon,  against  her  for  her  complete 
undoing.  We  must  show  the  people  that  in  the  Koran 
"  What  is  true  is  not  new,  and  what  is  new  is  not  true." 
For  English  speaking  Mohammedan  students,  I  have 
often  held  classes  in  which  the  Bible  and  the  Koran  were 
studied  and  compared,  and  as  a  result  not  a  few  have 
been  led  to  see  that  the  one  was  most  human  while  the 
other  was  divine.  So  important  have  I  felt  the  use  of  the 
Koran  to  be,  that  when  intelligent  Hindus  have  been  in- 
clined to  praise  Mohammedanism,  I  have  given  them 
the  Eev.  W.  Goldsack's  Bengali  translation  of  the  Koran 
to  read.  In  this  way  the  eyes  of  many  have  been  opened 
to  see  the  absurdities  of  the  book.  My  belief  is  that  if 
only  we  can  get  the  Hindus  and  Mohammedans  to  under- 
stand what  the  Koran  really  teaches,  we  shall  be  able  to 
check  the  advance. 

6.  What  are  we  to  do  to  stop  the  leakage  that  I  have 
shown  is  going  on  owing  to  economic  conditions  prevalent 
in  Hindu  society?  Surely  there  is  need  to  push  reform 
and  rescue  work.  Our  philanthropic  agencies  should  be 
increased.  When  so  many  are  forced  to  change  their 
faith,  then  should  we  not  be  ready  to  show  them  that  we 
are  their  friends  f  Do  we  not  need  more  Homes  of  Hope 
for  the  despised  and  neglected  Hindu  widows  and  other 
women  who  are  not  wanted?  In  many  stations  in 
Bengal,  now,  the  people  know  that  the  missionaries  will 
help  such,  and  thank  God  scores  have  been  rescued  and 
eternally  saved  through  the  power  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

Great  good  is  being  done,  too,  by  medical  missionary 
effort.  It  softens  many  a  heart  and  wins  many  attentive 
ears.1 

1  In  connection  with  our  philanthropic  effort  it  is  interesting  to  read 
the  opinion  of  a  Moslem  who  wrote  an  article  to  the  Hibbert  Journal 
on  * '  Islam  and  Common  Sense. ' '  He  considers  that  Christianity  often 


Moslem  Advance  in  India  219 

7.  A  Missionaries  to  Moslems  League  might  be  es- 
tablished. We  need  some  bond  of  unity  in  this  great 
work  in  India;  something  that  will  keep  the  Moham- 
medan problem  constantly  before  us.  I  have  referred  to 
Moslem  unity  j  why  should  we  not  show  a  more  united 
front  ?  Can  we  accomplish  the  task  if  we  are  not  united  t 
We  should  aim  at  an  ordered  advance.  We  should  be 
more  on  the  alert.  How  many  of  us  are  on  the  lookout 
to  see  what  the  Mohammedans  are  about  I  Do  we  watch 
their  papers  and  magazines  t  Do  we  know  what  books 
they  are  bringing  out?  Some  may  say,  What  does  it 
matter  f  It  does  matter.  Current  topics  are  the  straws 
on  the  stream  that  tell  the  way  of  the  tide.  When  the 
Bengali  translation  of  the  Koran  mentioned  above  was 
first  brought  out,  a  Mulvi  travelled  some  distance  to 
Calcutta  to  inquire  of  the  publishers  who  was  the  trans- 
lator and  all  about  the  work.  Why  are  we  not  more 
active  ? 

The  work  is  hard,  but  we  shall  win  if  we  go  about  it 
in  a  right  spirit  and  faint  not.  Christianity  lived  and  be- 
came victorious  in  spite  of  Nero  and  all  his  cruel  sensual 
agencies.  It  was  faith  in  the  strong  Son  of  God  that  did 
it.  Mohammedanism  is  in  a  sense  a  modern  Nero.  The 
same  faith,  strengthened  by  mighty  prayer,  can  check 
and  finally  overcome  Islam  in  India.  Lord,  increase  our 
faith  ! 

fails  to  make  converts  while  Islam  succeeds  because,  "The  Moslem 
does  not  consider  it  wrong  to  offer  worldly  inducements  to  a  new 
convert,  because  as  a  man  of  common  sense  he  understands  that  he 
must  take  care  of  the  man's  body  as  well  as  his  soul." 


XVI 

MOSLEM  ADVANCE  IN  MALAYSIA 

REV.  N.  ADRIANI,  CELEBES 

THE  great  islands  of  Malaysia,  except  New 
Guinea,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  little 
Malaysian  isles  are  totally  or  partially  occupied 
by  Islam. 

On  the  islands  of  Java,  Madura,  Lombok,  Sumbawa ; 
in  the  southwestern  peninsula  of  Celebes,  the  southern 
part  of  Gilolo  ;  in  Central  and  South  Sumatra  ;  on  the 
isles  of  Buton,  Muna  and  Salayer,  the  population  are  al- 
ready quite  Islamized,  so  that  in  these  countries  there  is 
no  question  of  Moslem  advance  among  pagan  inhabit- 
ants, whether  Christian  missions  are  working  there  or 
not. 

In  some  parts  of  Malaysia  a  considerable  number  of  the 
population  are  still  heathen,  as  in  the  southern  part  of 
North  Sumatra  ;  in  the  whole  interior  of  Borneo  and  Cen- 
tral Celebes ;  on  the  isles  of  Flores,  Timor,  Ceram,  Buru, 
North  Gilolo  and  in  New  Guinea.  There  has  indeed  been 
contact  between  these  pagan  people  and  the  Moham- 
medans who  are  living  on  the  seacoast,  but  what  may  be 
called  propaganda  only  takes  place  where  a  numerous 
Mohammedan  colony  has  established  itself  on  the  sea- 
shore and  has  entered  into  commercial  relations  with  the 
heathen  population  of  the  interior.  Regular  Moslem 
propaganda  is  being  exercised  in  all  the  countries  where 
a  mission  of  the  Gospel  is  working  among  pagan  races  in 
the  interior  which  are  surrounded  by  Moslems,  because 
Mohammedan  zeal  and  jealousy  are  aroused  by  this  Chris- 
tian work  and  they  wish  to  make  haste  with  proselytism, 

220 


Moslem  Advance  in  Malaysia  221 

in  order  to  prevent  the  heathen  from,  being  converted  to 
Christianity. 

Moslem  propaganda  is  practiced  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent among  the  heathen  population  of  the  southern  part 
of  North  Sumatra  (Batak  country)  in  the  interior  of  the 
isle  of  Borneo  and  in  Central  Celebes.  On  the  island  of 
Gilolo  Moslem  advance  is  already  put  to  an  end  by  the 
influence  of  the  Christian  mission,  which  is  working  very 
successfully  there.  In  Central  Celebes  Christian  mission- 
aries are  doing  good  work  as  far  as  their  influence  reaches, 
so  that  Mohammedan  propaganda  is  now  out  of  question  ; 
but  as  only  a  small  part  of  this  large  country  is  being 
evangelized,  Islam  goes  on  victoriously  without  any 
impediment  on  the  whole  of  the  northeastern  and  south- 
eastern peninsula  ;  and  so  it  is  in  the  southern  and  the 
western  part  of  the  centre.  Strong  Mohammedan  in- 
fluence is  felt  also  in  that  part  of  the  northern  peninsula 
of  Celebes  which  is  situated  on  the  west  of  the  Gulf  of 
Tomiiii  and  on  the  east  of  the  Strait  of  Macassar,  be- 
cause Christian  mission  work  has  not  yet  made  a  start 
there. 

On  the  island  of  Borneo  Moslem  influence  is  increasing 
steadily  in  the  same  proportion  as  paganism  is  declining. 
Only  where  Christian  missions  are  at  work,  the  Moslem 
advance  is  resisted  with  success,  but  in  the  greater  part  of 
this  island  Mohammedan  propaganda  goes  on  without 
resistance. 

In  the  Batak  country  (southern  part  of  North  Sumatra) 
the  inland  population,  which  is  partly  Christian,  partly 
pagan,  is  the  object  of  the  tenderest  care  of  the  mission- 
aries, because  the  influence  of  Islam  is  very  dangerous, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Batak  people  are  surrounded 
on  all  sides  by  Moslems,  as  the  Achinese,  the  Malays, 
the  natives  of  the  western  coast  and  the  population  of 
the  Deli  region  on  the  eastern  coast. 


222  Islam  and  Missions' 

Now  let  us  consider  the  general  character  of  Moslem 
propaganda  on  the  islands  of  Malaysia. 

The  Moslems  of  Malaysia,  who  leave  their  native 
country  in  order  to  establish  themselves  on  the  shores  of 
other  countries,  whether  temporarily  or  permanently,  are 
generally  anxious  to  make  proselytes.  It  is  not  especially 
religious  conviction  that  drives  them,  but  rather  commer- 
cial interest.  Those  who  emigrate  are  always  people  who 
gain  their  living  by  trading.  In  order  to  be  successful  in 
trade,  they  have  to  procure  for  themselves  safety  for  life 
and  merchandise.  Now  pagan  tribes  in  Malaysia  live  in 
communism.  The  family  extends  itself  to  a  clan,  clans 
grow  to  tribes  ;  and  family  relation  is  the  only  tie  that 
holds  together  these  communities.  Only  among  one's 
family  does  one  feel  safe.  It  is  a  matter  of  course  that  the 
Mohammedan  foreigner,  as  soon  as  he  is  established  on 
the  shore  of  the  heathen  land,  tries  to  enter  into  family 
relations  with  the  native  tribe  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
which  he  lives  and  trades.  In  this  he  succeeds  by  marry- 
ing a  woman  belonging  to  that  tribe.  In  this  way  he  and 
other  fellow  Mohammedans  create  Moslem  family  circles ; 
for  the  wives  have  to  adopt  the  religion  of  their  husbands, 
be  it  only  superficially.  No  one  will  expect  the  wife  to 
fulfill  the  duties  of  her  new  religion,  but  her  children  are 
sure  to  become  better  Mohammedans  than  their  mother. 
In  this  way  a  group  of  Mohammedan  families  is  formed 
which  by  and  by  grows  into  a  Moslem  community,  and  at 
last  becomes  a  society  with  its  own  chief.  Thus  some 
centuries  ago  Islam  established  itself  in  Sumatra,  after- 
wards in  Java  and  the  other  islands  of  Malaysia  and  in 
this  way  we  see  it  at  present  establishing  itself  in  Central 
Celebes. 

Sometimes  a  good  number  of  Mohammedan  families 
settle  at  the  coast,  choose  a  chief,  and  so  from  the  be- 
ginning immediately  form  a  political  unity.  But  what- 


Moslem  Advance  in  Malaysia  223 

ever  its  origin  may  be,  a  Moslem  establishment  always 
exercises  influence  on  the  heathen  tribes  of  the  interior. 
Various  reasons  bring  about  this  supremacy.  The  Mo- 
hammedan population  does  not  chiefly  live  on  agricul- 
ture. They  earn  their  living  by  trade  and,  just  as  in 
Europe,  it  is  considered  more  distinguished  not  to  be 
an  agriculturist.  The  Mohammedan  coast  population 
do  grow  some  vegetables  and  fruit,  but  as  for  the 
principal  food,  which  is  rice,  they  depend  on  the  people 
of  the  interior.  On  their  excursions  they  have  always 
money  with  them  and  they  never  forget  to  make  a 
show  of  it.  The  Mohammedans  also  dress  in  a  better 
way  than  the  [heathen,  and  they  very  cunningly  array 
themselves  in  clothes  which  excite  the  covetousness  and 
desire  of  their  heathen  neighbours,  who  are  very  fond 
of  buying  new  articles.  They  like  to  perfume  them- 
selves and  constantly  speak  with  contempt  about  eating 
pork  and  of  other  customs  of  the  people  of  the  interior. 
In  short,  they  know  how  to  behave  as  people  of  higher 
rank  and  quality  than  the  simple  pagans.  They  are 
also  expert  in  flattering  the  chiefs  of  the  tribes,  and 
know  how  to  make  use  of  the  weak  points  of  the 
character  of  these  men  by  encouraging  them  to  abuse 
their  power  and  make  greater  show  in  their  daily  lives. 
These  "traders  are  very  clever  in  persuading  the  chief  to 
spend  money  at  the  expense  of  his  subjects.  Even  the 
Mohammedan  wives  know  how  to  assume  the  air  of 
important  and  distinguished  persons,  by  dressing  as 
showily  as  possible  ;  they  never  carry  any  burdens 
themselves,  but  always  are  escorted  by  one  or  more 
slaves.  They  noisily  complain  about  the  heat  and  the 
fatigue  of  walking,  and  always  call  the  attention  to  the 
fact  that  they  do  not  perform  any  agricultural  work, 
but  weave  and  sew  only.  Through  all  these  means  the 
Mohammedan  traders  arouse  the  desires  of  the  people 


224  Islam  and  Missions 

of  the  interior  to  imitate  their  customs  and  all  these 
things  are  profitable  to  a  propagation  of  Islam. 

If  you  ask  how  this  is  possible,  because  all  these  mat- 
ters have  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  religion,  I  an- 
swer :  According  to  our  Western  ideas,  it  is  so,  but  we 
ought  not  to  forget  that  we  Europeans  are  accustomed 
to  consider  religion  as  having  its  own  territory  with 
definite  limits.  For  the  Indonesian  mind  religion  is 
not  a  thing  apart.  In  order  to  express  the  idea  ' '  re- 
ligion,v  they  have  to  borrow  the  Sanscrit  word 
"agama,"  which  we  find  in  ever  so  many  Indonesian 
languages.  Eeligion,  according  to  heathen  conception, 
is  a  natural  ingredient  of  existence  of  a  tribe,  and  there- 
fore it  is  most  closely  connected  with  the  organization  of 
the  tribe.  It  enters  into  law,  justice,  food,  clothing,  lan- 
guage ;  into  agriculture,  medicine,  marriage,  birth,  fu- 
nerals, festivals,  in  short,  into  everything  concerning 
daily  life.  Everywhere  religion  is  to  be  found,  but  it  is 
never  conceived  as  a  special  thing.  Therefore,  when 
a  heathen  is  converted  to  Christianity  or  to  Islam,  he 
will  want  to  enter  into  the  tribe  of  the  nation  whose 
religion  he  has  chosen.  He  wants  to  imitate  that  na- 
tion's clothing;  it  is  an  important  thing  for  him  to 
know  which  food  is  forbidden  by  the  new  religion,  and 
he  wants  to  eat  the  food  which  he  sees  his  teacher  eat- 
ing, though  it  is  unknown  to  him,  and  when  his  stom- 
ach becomes  disarranged  by  it,  he  will  ascribe  this  to 
the  power  of  the  gods  he  has  forsaken.  He  wants  to 
learn  his  teacher's  language  ;  in  a  word,  it  seems  ab- 
surd to  him  to  adopt  any  one's  religion  without  adopt- 
ing his  manner  of  living.  If  a  native  is  converted  to 
Christianity,  he  is  apt  to  go  too  far  in  imitating  his 
teachers,  for  instance  in  dressing  like  the  Europeans, 
and  if  his  missionary  or  his  teacher  too  strongly  tries 
to  check  this  inclination,  the  new  convert  will  begin 


Moslem  Advance  in  Malaysia  225 

to  doubt  whether  the  intentions  of  his  teacher  are  quite 
sincere,  because  it  seems  to  him  his  leaders  want  to 
bring  him  to  a  stand,  half-way  in  his  development,  in 
order  to  make  him  a  Christian  of  inferior  kind. 

When  a  Mohammedan  trader  in  Malaysia  comes  into 
connection  with  the  heathen  population  of  the  interior, 
he  teaches  Islam,  for  the  sake  of  his  commercial  inter- 
ests, by  encouraging  the  people  to  buy  his  goods.  Na- 
tives naturally  are  fond  of  buying,  and  they  long  to 
have  the  things  shown  to  them.  A  sarung,  a  head-cloth, 
an  embroidered  jacket,  a  knife  with  silver  sheath,  all 
this  is  finer  than  they  usually  wear,  but  it  is  of  the 
same  kind  and  so  they  want  to  buy  it.  A  Mohammedan 
trader  in  their  eyes  is  not  a  different  species  of  man- 
kind, but  a  fellow  native  of  a  superior  kind,  and  this 
superiority  is  not  too  high  for  them  also  to  reach.  The 
heathen  only  wants  to  assume  the  airs  of  a  more  distin- 
guished person.  A  heathen  who  has  chosen  this  path 
more  and  more  follows  the  ways  of  the  Mohammedans, 
whom  he  admires ;  he  learns  to  gamble,  smoke  opium, 
to  usurp  power  over  his  fellows  and  to  enrich  himself 
at  their  expense.  If  he  succeeds  in  making  himself 
powerful,  he  uses  his  influence  to  lead  others  to  adopt 
Mohammedan  customs  also.  In  this  way  he  may  easily 
become  their  chief,  being  the  leader  of  the  Mohammedan 
movement,  which  he  provoked.  In  the  new  state  of 
affairs  naturally  he  is  the  principal  man. 

Do  not  infer  from  what  has  been  said  that  Moham- 
medan traders  are  all  sly  and  cunning  politicians,  hav- 
ing foresight  and  intelligence.  Things  take  their  course 
quite  naturally.  The  Moslem  trader,  when  coming  in 
a  heathen  village,  immediately  calls  on  the  chief  and 
applies  to  him  for  assistance.  He  gives  a  present  to 
the  chief,  passes  the  night  in  the  chiefs  house,  behaves 
decently  and  tries  to  make  him  his  customer,  because 


226  Islam  and  Missions 

he  knows  the  chief  can  pay.  In  the  communistic 
heathen  society  the  chief  is  the  patriarch,  his  house  is 
the  largest,  his  family  is  the  most  numerous,  he  man- 
ages the  undivided  family  possessions  and  is  responsi- 
ble for  the  debts  of  his  fellow  villagers.  If  the  chief 
has  no  money,  the  Mohammedan  trader  will  accept  rice, 
maize,  buffaloes,  horses,  slaves.  The  more  the  trader 
stimulates  the  vanity  and  the  desire  of  the  chief  to  buy, 
the  more  profitably  his  business  goes  on.  He  likes  to 
flatter  the  chief  in  telling  him  he  is  a  descendant  of 
the  great  Nebi  Mohammed,  the  almighty  monarch  of 
Mecca,  and  the  chief  readily  believes  him  to  be  so  and 
leaves  off  eating  pork.  Now  the  desire  of  exalting  him- 
self is  aroused  and  by  and  by  the  chief  of  the  interior 
tribe  imitates  the  manner  of  living  and  the  behaviour 
of  the  Mohammedan  chief  from  the  coast.  A  chief 
with  no  other  power  than  the  patriarchal  one  has  no 
other  means  of  getting  his  fellow  men  in  his  power 
than  by  making  them  slaves  or  debtors.  A  chief  with 
such  inclinations  will  often  apply  himself  to  trading. 
Having  no  mercantile  experience  whatever,  he  will 
easily  get  into  debt,  but  his  Mohammedan  friends  al- 
ways will  prevent  his  ruin,  it  being  more  advantageous 
to  them  to  make  him  dependent  on  them  than  to 
have  him  a  free  and  independent  chief  in  their  neigh- 
bourhood. 

If  the  Mohammedan  population  on  the  seashore  has 
grown  into  a  regular  state,  whose  chief  bears  high  titles 
and  exhibits  great  splendour,  he  often  abuses  his  power 
and  influence,  and  simply  commands  the  people  of  the 
interior  to  accept  Islam.  Teachers  of  religion  settle 
down  among  these  new  converts  and  earn  their  living 
by  trading  and  giving  religious  instruction,  which  prin- 
cipally consists  in  recital  of  the  Koran.  Most  of  them 
also  trade  in  charms  or  recruit  pupils  from  the  popula- 


Moslem  Advance  in  Malaysia  227 

tion,  whom  they  initiate  into  occult  science.  These 
pupils  have  to  promise  beforehand  to  do  anything  that 
their  teacher  commands  them  to  do. 

In  this  peaceful  and  easy  way  Islam  propagates  itself 
slowly  but  steadily  among  the  pagan  tribes  in  Malaysia  ; 
on  a  larger  scale  in  Borneo,  on  a  smaller  scale  in  Celebes. 
One  factor,  which  has  worked  powerfully  in  Sumatra 
to  spread  the  Mohammedan  religion,  has  yet  to  be 
mentioned  ;  it  is  the  influence  of  the  Dutch  government 
in  the  islands  of  Malaysia. 

It  is  very  unjust  to  say  that  the  Dutch  colonial  gov- 
ernment favourizes  the  propagation  of  Islam.  The  neu- 
trality of  the  Dutch  government  is  genuine  and  is  being 
maintained  irreproachably.  Any  thwarting  of  Chris- 
tian missions  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  personal  opinions 
of  some  officers  of  the  civil  service.  But  notwithstand- 
ing its  strict  neutrality,  extension  of  the  Dutch  colonial 
power  among  heathen  tribes  of  Malaysia  inevitably  is 
connected  with  extension  of  Islam.  There  are  two 
reasons  for  this  fact ;  the  weakness  of  paganism,  and 
the  strength  of  Islam. 

When  the  Dutch  government  establishes  itself  where 
it  has  not  yet  ruled,  the  population  is  at  first  not  much 
pleased.  The  chiefs  who  ruled  independently  are  put 
under  control ;  the  population  has  to  do  service  and 
pay  taxes ;  they  do  not  like  to  be  ruled  by  foreigners. 
Their  own  religion  has  no  power  to  resist,  nor  to  extend 
itself,  pagan  religion  not  being  more  than  family  wor- 
ship, founded  on  family  traditions,  so  that  it  is  utterly 
conservative.  Changes  in  social  life  cannot  take  place 
without  bringing  considerable  detriment  to  religion. 
The  population  which  is  newly  brought  under  European 
government  seeks  a  means  of  excluding  European  influ- 
ence. If  they  do  not  yet  know  the  Christian  religion, 
they  will  regard  conversion  to  it  as  the  achievement  of 


228  Islam  and  Missions 

their  subjection  to  the  European  government.  They 
distrust  the  European  missionary  as  much  as  the  Euro- 
pean civil  officer.  The  latter  being  their  overlord, 
be  he  ever  so  loyal  in  his  behaviour,  the  former  easily 
falls  under  the  suspicion  of  being  an  overlord  also. 
This  is  the  reason  why  the  desire  of  the  people  to  be- 
come acquainted  with  Christianity  is  very  small.  They 
have  submitted  to  the  government  because  of  its  mili- 
tary force.  But  what  can  compel  them  to  submit  them- 
selves to  the  missionaries,  for  this  is  their  first  inter- 
pretation of  conversion  to  Christianity.  Now  Islam 
comes  to  them  in  the  shape  of  a  civilization  a  little 
higher  than  their  own.  It  is  brought  to  them  by  their 
fellow  natives  whose  manner  of  life  is  somewhat  higher 
than  their  own  and  stimulates  their  imitation.  As 
soon  as  the  heathen  gets  some  notion  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  Islam,  he  feels  it  is  a  good  thing  to  become  a 
member  of  that  large  brotherhood  whose  numerous  mem- 
bers possess  the  very  thing  which  the  European  govern- 
ment deals  with  respectfully,  that  is,  their  religion  j  al- 
though the  Moslems  themselves  are  subjected  to  that 
government.  They  find  out  that  in  matters  of  religion 
they  are  allowed  to  be  their  own  masters,  and  are  able 
to  keep  foreigners — civil  officers  and  missionaries — 
away  from  that  territory,  with  little  trouble  and  great 
success.  As  a  heathen,  a  native  does  not  feel  any  pa- 
triotism, he  knows  no  community  except  his  family, 
and  knows  nothing  of  brotherhood  in  faith.  By  adopt- 
ing Islam,  he  becomes  conscious  that  he  belongs  to  a 
great  organization,  which  is  able  to  hold  its  ground 
against  any  worldly  power  ;  which  gives  to  its  members 
the  privilege  of  feeling  superior  to  infidel  foreigners, 
and  which  promises  a  position  far  higher  than  that  of 
those  infidels  in  the  life  hereafter.  Islam  grants  to  its 
adherents  what  may  be  called  an  international  nation- 


Moslem  Advance  in  Malaysia  229 

ality  and  procures  them  a  counterpoise  against  the  weight 
of  the  foreign  government. 

Other  consequences  of  the  establishment  of  a  European 
government  among  heathen  tribes  is  the  opening  of  roads 
into  the  interior  country  j  the  increase  of  intercourse  on 
account  of  greater  safety,  so  that  Mohammedan  traders 
may  penetrate  as  far  as  the  remotest  places  of  the  inland 
country.  Besides  this,  the  colonial  government  is  obliged 
to  appoint  as  inferior  officers  of  the  civil  service  Moham- 
medan functionaries,  who  ought  to  be  neutral,  but  who 
propagate  their  religion  as  much  as  possible.  Especially 
when  government  schools  are  opened  and  Mohammedan 
schoolmasters  are  placed  at  the  head  of  them,  Moslem 
propaganda  goes  on  rapidly.  Through  all  these  means 
the  European  colonial  power  opens  the  doors  to  Islam. 

The  only  effective  measure  that  can  prevent  Islam  from 
penetrating  farther  and  farther  is  the  Christianizing  of 
the  heathen  nations  through  missions  of  the  Gospel.  In 
countries  where  fcuropean  government  is  not  yet  estab- 
lished, Islam  does  not  make  great  progress  amongst  the 
heathen  of  Malaysia,  and  if  a  Christian  mission  makes  its 
entrance  before  the  government,  it  is  likely  to  have  large 
chance  of  success.  The  missionaries  then  have  the  op- 
portunity of  making  themselves  known  as  good  and  loyal 
friends  to  the  people,  as  Europeans  who  by  no  means 
have  come  to  exercise  worldly  power,  but  to  win  the 
hearts  of  the  people  ;  who  want  to  gain  the  people's  at- 
tention first  of  all  to  the  message  of  the  Gospel.  When 
the  people's  prejudice  against  Europeans  has  been  over- 
come, it  may  yet  be  a  long  time  before  the  population  is 
converted  to  Christianity.  In  such  a  case  the  coming  of 
the  European  government  may  cause  a  movement  to  wards 
the  Gospel.  This  at  least  has  happened  in  Central  Cele- 
bes. 

But  there  remain  no  more  countries  in  Malaysia  where 


230  Islam  and  Missions 

the  mission  may  make  its  entrance  before  the  European 
power,  since  the  great  extension  of  the  Dutch  govern- 
ment in  the  years  1904-1909.  It  may  be  said  that  the 
heathen  population  of  Malaysia  is  in  the  latter  years 
more  than  ever  accessible  to  Islam.  The  Ehenish  Mission- 
ary Society  is  doing  good  work  in  the  interior  of  the 
southern  part  of  Borneo,  in  the  countries  along  the  Barito, 
Kapuas  Murung  and  Kahayan  Eivers.  But  the  popula- 
tion on  the  banks  of  the  Kapuas,  Mahakam  and  Kayan 
Eivers  is  not  yet  being  evangelized  ;  there  Islam  may  ex- 
ercise its  influence  without  the  least  hindrance.  From 
the  reports  of  Dr.  Nieuwenhuis  we  may  learn  that  the 
population  on  the  Kapuas  Eiver  far  towards  its  upper 
course  are  already  converted  to  Islam,  and  Dr.  Nieuwen- 
huis  shows  clearly  that  Islam  is  doing  no  good  there. 
The  missionaries  of  the  Ehenish  Mission  Society  declare 
that  the  Dayak  population  along  the  banks  of  the  Barito, 
Kapuas  Murung  and  Kahayan  Eivers  have  already 
adopted  so  much  from  both  Islam  and  Christianity,  that 
they  consider  it  superfluous  to  become  either  Moham- 
medans or  Christians.  They  pretend  already  to  possess 
that  which  is  offered  to  them. 

The  missionary  forces  of  the  Ehenish  Missionary  So- 
ciety are  at  present  not  sufficient  to  work  regularly  among 
the  Mohammedans.  Systematic  missions  among  the  Mo- 
hammedans of  Borneo  have  not  yet  been  started,  as  all 
the  missionary  forces  are  needed  for  the  evangelizing  of 
the  heathen  population. 

As  for  the  Isle  of  Nias  (on  the  western  coast  of  Suma- 
tra), no  influence  of  importance  has  been  exercised  on  the 
heathen  population  by  the  Mohammedans  of  the  coast. 
Just  as  in  Central  Celebes,  the  Christian  mission  has  had 
here  the  advantage  of  being  established  before  the  Dutch 
government  made  its  entrance.  At  present,  Christianity 
is  developing  powerfully  there,  so  that  all  the  disposable 


Moslem  Advance  in  Malaysia  231 

missionary  force  is  occupied.  So  there  is  no  opportunity 
for  starting  systematic  mission  work  among  the  Moham- 
medan foreigners  of  the  coast  of  Nias. 

In  the  Batak  country  matters  are  somewhat  different. 
There  regular  mission  work  is  being  done  among  the 
Mohammedans,  because  (as  Eev.  Simon  says)  "  the  best 
defense  is  attack."  The  first  means  of  evangelizing 
among  Mohammedans  is  school  work.  Another  is 
medical  work.  A  very  important  factor  is  the  testimony 
of  Christian  converts  who  are  not  intimidated  by  the 
haughty  behaviour  of  the  Mohammedans.  It  is  of  great 
importance  to  note  that  in  some  countries  where  Islam 
stands  in  hostile  opposition  to  Christianity,  it  has  be- 
come evident  that  Islam  is  not  invincible  but  is  in  fact 
being  conquered  by  the  Gospel.  This  is  a  precious  fruit 
of  hard  missionary  work  in  those  regions  of  Sumatra 
which  are  on  the  frontier  between  Christian  and  Moslem 
population.  The  heathen  acknowledges  that  he  has  no 
religion,  that  is,  no  separate  agama,  which  may  be  defined. 
When  he  becomes  a  Mohammedan,  he  gets  one.  Why 
should  he  ask  for  another  religion  f  Natives  generally 
think  it  is  impossible  for  a  Mohammedan  to  become  a 
Christian.  They  know  that  Christians  sometimes  become 
Mohammedans.  So  they  believe  that  Islam  is  superior 
to  Christianity.  This  belief  is  strengthened  by  the 
proud  behaviour  of  the  Moslems  towards  the  Christians 
and  the  fantastic  pictures  of  the  future  of  Islam  which 
they  paint  before  the  eyes  of  the  heathen.  It  is  there- 
fore a  question  of  life  for  the  Christian  mission  to  show 
it  is  not  afraid  of  Islam,  but  is  able  to  attack  it  success- 
fully. 

It  seems  to  me  that  this  work  demands  special  prepara- 
tion. The  missionaries  who  are  going  to  take  it  up 
ought  to  have  studied  the  subject  carefully.  They 
ought  to  know  the  theoretical  Islam,  and  also  to  get  a 


232  Islam  and  Missions 

clear  perception  of  the  actual  condition  of  Mohammedan- 
ism, that  is,  they  ought  to  know  the  practical  religion 
of  the  teachers  and  theologians  as  well  as  of  "  the  people 
who  do  not  know  the  law.'7  Furthermore,  these  mis- 
sionaries ought  to  study  paganism,  in  order  to  know  on 
what  foundation  Islam  has  been  built  in  the  Mohammedan 
population  amongst  whom  they  are  working. 

The  principal  thing  is  to  show  no  fear  of  Islam.  To 
take  away  forces  from  a  mission  to  heathen  in  order  to 
attack  Islam,  where  it  reigns  exclusively,  is  not  wise ;  a 
better  plan  is  to  meet  Islam  without  fear  at  the  frontiers 
of  its  territory,  so  as  to  prevent  it  from  going  beyond 
these  frontiers  to  gain  territory  from  Christianity.  This 
is  the  method  which  is  profitable  to  a  mission  to  heathen 
as  well  as  to  a  mission  among  Mohammedans. 


XVII 

ISLAM  IN  CHINA 
MR.  F.  H.  RHODES  (China  Inland  Mission) 

AT  the  outset  of  this  inquiry  as  to  Mohammedan- 
ism in  China,  we  shall  do  well  to  bear  in  mind 
the  very  limited  sources  of  information  at  our 
disposal.  This  complex  subject  is  comparatively  a  new 
study  ;  there  are  few  authorities  to  consult,  and  in  this 
field  of  inquiry  there  are  no  experts  to  whom  we  can  go. 

Further,  it  may  be  noted,  the  sources  of  the  available 
information  are  sometimes  perforce  of  Moslem  origin. 
This  renders  it  highly  desirable  that  several  opinions 
should  be  obtained,  if  we  are  to  arrive  at  a  fairly  correct 
view  of  our  subject.  This  may  be  illustrated  by  the 
following  example  ;  in  making  inquiry  recently  as  to  the 
number  of  mosques,  the  answers  concerning  a  certain 
city  were  as  follows  : — "  seven,"  a  twenty  to  thirty,"  and 
"thirty-six."  Careful  investigation  showed  that  the 
last  number  was  the  correct  one. 

The  elaborate  information  collected  by  Mr.  Marshall 
Broomhall  for  the  Edinburgh  Conference,  and  now  em- 
bodied in  his  book  recently  published,  has  not  been 
available  for  this  brief  paper.  What  is  here  attempted 
— a  very  inadequate  effort  it  is  true — is  to  throw  stronger 
light  on  a  question  of  real  interest,  and  of  deep  impor- 
tance to  all  who  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  who 
pray  for  the  coming  of  His  kingdom. 

To  gain  a  clearer  knowledge  of  Islam  in  China,  and  in 
order  to  be  able  to  supply  information  specially  re- 
quested, further  recent  inquiries  have  now  been  made  ; 

233 


234  Islam  and  Missions 

the  quotations  that  follow  are  from  letters  received  in 
1910  from  able  workers  in  some  seventeen  provinces  in 
China.  In  the  highest  interests  of  the  work,  and  lest 
their  influence  among  the  Moslems  should  be  weakened, 
the  names  are  not  here  recorded  of  those  who  have  so 
kindly  contributed  very  valuable  information  on  this 
subject. 

The  Mohammedans  in  China  are  scattered  over  a  very 
wide  area  ;  you  can  meet  the  followers  of  the  prophet  in 
varying  numbers  literally  from  north  to  south  and  from 
east  to  west !  I  cannot  speak  about  Outer  Mongolia,  but 
in  Inner  Mongolia,  in  Manchuria,  and  in  every  province 
in  China,  you  can  find  the  followers  of  Islam. 

The  smallest  groups  of  Moslems  will  probably  be  found 
in  the  three  following  provinces :  Kiang-si,  Cheh-kiang, 
and  Fu-kien.  In  eleven  provinces  you  will  find  the 
Moslems  in  considerable  numbers ;  not  only  in  the  pro- 
vincial capitals,  but  also  throughout  these  provinces. 
These  eleven  provinces  should  be  specially  noted,  and 
earnest  prayer  centred  on  these  strongholds  of  Islam  in 
China.  They  are  as  follows  : 

Chih-li,  Shan-tung,  Kiang-su,  Sin-kiang,  Kan-su, 
Shen-si,  Sze-chwan,  Yun-nan,  Kwang-si,  Ho- nan,  and 
An-hwei. 

The  Mohammedan,  in  spite  of  all  that  has  told  disas- 
trously upon  him,  is  still  to-day  a  power  in  China.  His 
people,  as  one  careful  observer  states,  are  "a  very  large 
element  of  China's  mixed  multitude. "  The  opium  that 
has  demoralized  and  enfeebled  so  many  has  told  heavily 
upon  idolater  and  Moslem  alike.  The  stern  retribution 
meted  out  in  bygone  years — aftermath  of  rebellion — has 
very  considerably  affected  Islam  in  numbers  and  in 
wealth.  But  the  Moslem  in  China  has  come  through  it 
all,  has  made  a  name  for  himself,  and  certainly  well 
deserves  the  place  he  has  won  in  the  Celestial  Empire. 


A    Mohammedan   Teacher 


Butchers  from  West  China 


Islam  in  China  235 

In  the  various  occupations  he  has  taken  up,  the 
Moslem  has  not  done  badly.  It  is  true  that  his  ability 
has  shone  out  more  conspicuously  in  business  capacity 
and  in  military  service  than  in  literary  career.  Moslem 
generals  and  Moslem  soldiers  have  again  and  again  dis- 
tinguished themselves  by  brave  and  capable  service  in 
the  cause  in  which  their  services  have  been  enlisted.  In 
times  of  crisis,  instances  are  not  wanting  to  prove  that 
Westerners  as  well  as  the  Chinese  have  profited  by  their 
brave  defense. 

It  is  perhaps  worth  recording  that  the  beggar-class  in 
China,  so  notorious  for  numbers,  painful  sights,  and 
piteous  appeals,  does  not  appear  to  receive  many  recruits 
from  Islam.  During  a  stay  of  several  years  in  a  district 
where  the  Mohammedans  were  strong,  even  in  the 
Moslem  quarter,  the  writer  never  saw  or  heard  of  a 
Mohammedan  beggar. 

The  Mullas,  or  Ah-hungs  as  they  are  called  in  China, 
command  as  a  class  our  deep  respect  and  deserve  our 
sincere  sympathy.  It  may  be  some  will  not  be  able  to 
quite  endorse  this  statement ;  however,  I  cannot  qualify 
it.  If  we  remember  the  atmosphere  in  which  the  Moslem 
priest  has  been  brought  up,  the  poisonous  teaching  he 
has  assimilated,  the  life  and  example  of  his  prophet,  and 
then  reflect  on  the  "  why  f  "  and  "  wherefore  ?  "  of  Islam, 
any  harsh  verdict  we  may  have  formed  may  be  consider, 
ably  altered.  May  I  recall  the  words  of  one  of  the 
earlier  veteran  missionaries  in  India?  "The  Moslem 
power  sprang  from  the  ashes  of  an  extinguished  mission- 
ary fire." 

In  not  a  few  cases  the  Chinese  Mullas  are  on  very 
friendly  terms  with  the  missionaries.  This  does  not 
weaken  their  strong  opposition  to  the  Gospel ;  or  as  I 
should  say,  the  Gospel  as  we  believe  it.  Their  inner  at- 
titude to  the  truth  will  be  seen  more  clearly  by  reference 


236  Islam  and  Missions 

to  a  letter  received  by  the  writer  from  a  Chinese  Mulla  in 
April,  1910.  The  letter  as  translated  by  a  friend  in 
London  is  too  long  to  reproduce  here  ;  but  the  following 
extract  will  serve  our  present  purpose.  It  was  written 
in  the  ordinary  classical  Arabic  such  as  is  used  in  Egypt 
and  the  countries  around  for  correspondence.  May  it 
lead  to  renewed  prayer,  and  more  loving  and  practical 
sympathy  with  the  neglected  Moslems  in  China. 

' l  How  can  a  bat  in  the  darkness  of  night  know  the 
light  of  the  sun  in  the  day  !  As  for  Mohammed,  the 
Chosen  One,  he  is  the  light  of  the  world,  and  the  Koran  is 
the  candle  pointing  to  him.  After  the  descent  of  the 
Koran,  the  rest  of  the  books  are  abrogated,  such  as  the 
Gospel,  the  Psalms,  and  the  Pentateuch.  Sorcerers  such 
as  the  Nazarenes,  who  are  ignorant  of  the  truth  of  the 
Gospel,  and  change  the  copy  of  the  Gospel  into  folly  and 
untruth  and  say  that  Jesus  Christ  is  more  excellent  than 
Mohammed,  do  not  know  that  when  the  sun  of  Moham- 
medanism arose  upon  the  world,  man  obtained  light  on 
the  straight  way  and  returned  from  unbelief  and  error 
.  .  .  except  the  Nazarenes." 

The  powerful  influence  the  Chinese  Mullas  exert  needs 
to  be  taken  into  account  in  considering  the  evangelization 
of  the  Moslems  in  this  land.  Their  word  on  matters  of 
religious  belief  is  law  to  most  Moslems.  I  draw  special 
attention  to  the  following:  "The  Chinese  Mullas  look 
upon  every  other  form  of  religion,  Christianity  included, 
with  the  greatest  contempt."  And  further  :  "The  Mo- 
hammedans in  China  have  implicit  faith  in  their  Mullas. " 

The  number  of  Chinese  Mullas  who  have  been  to 
Mecca  is  not  large.  Those  who  have  made  the  pilgrim- 
age once,  twice,  or  as  in  a  case  known  to  me,  three  times, 
are  held  in  very  high  respect  and  their  interpretation  of 
religion  is  to  the  Moslem  unassailable.  The  heavy  ex- 
pense, and  the  harsh  treatment  received  at  the  hands  of 


Islam  in  China  237 

their  co-religionists,  is  strongly  spoken  of  by  some  who 
have  returned  from  Arabia.  It  may  not  perhaps  be 
generally  known  that  the  Emir,  or  Sherif  of  Mecca,  a 
lineal  descendent  of  the  prophet,  and  Guardian  of  the 
Holy  places,  "  treats  the  pilgrims  with  the  greatest  in- 
humanity, and  those  who  take  the  pilgrims  round  and 
direct  them  in  their  religious  ceremonies  skin  them  to  the 
last  penny." 

Some  of  the  Mullas  in  China  have  a  pretty  good  knowl- 
edge of  Arabic  and  the  Koran.  Some  of  us  have  tested 
their  knowledge  by  asking  them  to  translate  from  Arabic 
into  spoken  Chinese  passages  familiar  to  us  but  not  so  to 
them ;  the  sarcastic  look,  the  indignant  answer  showing 
they  had  seen  through  the  veiled  insinuation,  the  ready 
and  sometimes  fluent  response  would  have  convinced  any 
one  present  that  some  of  our  Chinese  Mullas  know  far 
more  Arabic  than  we  have  given  them  credit  for  perhaps. 
Those  who  should  be  reckoned  in  this  class  are  not  over 
numerous,  but  owing  to  the  increase  of  schools  for  Arabic, 
the  number  is  growing.  Some  of  these  men  receive 
letters  in  Arabic  from  the  West ;  so  the  followers  of  the 
prophet  are  kept  in  touch  with  Islam  abroad. 

A  somewhat  larger  number  of  Mullas  can  read  the 
Arabic  Gospels,  if  they  care  to  do  so,  which  is  not  al- 
ways the  case,  and  get  a  good  idea  of  what  is  contained 
therein.  But  while  all  Moslems,  priests  and  people 
speak  the  Chinese  language,  few  Mullas  care  to  make 
much  use  of  the  written  Chinese  ;  they  are  strongly,  and 
very  naturally  prejudiced  in  favour  of  their  own  sacred 
script —  "our  peerless  Arabic, "  as  they  are  quick  to 
point  out. 

To  the  Chinese  Mulla,  as  to  those  in  other  lands,  "the 
Koran  is  literally,  and  verbally  accurate ;  its  words  be- 
ing the  direct,  final,  and  complete  revelation  of  God  to 
man."  That  any  one  should  presume  to  understand  or 


238  Islam  and  Missions 

teach  Divine  truth  without  a  knowledge  of  the  Koran  in 
the  original  is,  to  put  it  mildly,  utterly  without  reason, 
and  not  to  be  tolerated  by  the  Moslem. 

Most  mosques  have  scholarly  Chinese  to  deal  with 
Chinese  subjects ;  education  and  correspondence  are  in 
their  hands,  but  the  Mullas  are  responsible  for  teaching 
vital  religion.  The  importance  of  this  question  as  to  the 
use  of  Arabic  in  China  cannot  be  exaggerated. 

That  Islam  has  influenced  the  Chinese  for  good  on 
moral  or  spiritual  lines,  surely  none  would  care  to  assert. 
But  politically,  there  is  no  question  of  the  power  that 
has  been  and  still  is  exerted.  One  who  has  made  a  life- 
long study  of  China  and  her  neighbours,  recognized  as 
one  of  the  greatest  living  authorities  on  the  Far  East, 
writes  as  follows  :  u  As  to  the  Mohammedans  in  China, 
their  influence  is  everywhere  out  of  proportion  to  their 
numbers,  showing  the  effect  of  their  faith.  In  the  north- 
west and  southwest  provinces,  the  Mohammedans  have 
often  made  themselves  felt  as  a  serious  political  danger, 
and  the  government  has  more  than  once  attempted  to 
blot  them  out  by  a  general  massacre." 

While  the  Chinese  have  in  earlier  years  feared  the 
growing  political  power  of  Islam,  and  they  have  had 
good  cause  to  do  so  in  the  rebellions  of  the  past,  the 
Christian  Church,  alas,  has  very  sadly  neglected  the 
millions  of  Moslems  in  China.  It  is  only  in  recent  years 
that  Islam  in  China  has  been  taken  seriously  by  the  fol- 
lowers of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  In  the  reports  of  earlier 
missionary  conferences  hardly  a  passing  reference  can  be 
found  to  the  Mohammedans  in  China.  But  in  the  events 
of  recent  years,  can  we  not  see  the  working  of  our 
Omnipotent  Leader  in  the  clear  awakening  among  His 
people,  and  the  opening  door  of  opportunity  in  nearly 
all  Moslem  lands  t 

Although  for  years  not  a  few  of  God's  children  had 


Islam  in  China  239 

been  burdened  by  the  thought  of  the  neglected  Moslems 
in  China,  and  had  given  this  subject  a  special  place  in 
their  intercessions,  the  Christian  Church  had  not  really 
taken  it  to  heart.  But  since  the  * i  First  Missionary  Con- 
ference on  behalf  of  the  Mohammedan  World, "  held  at 
Cairo,  1906,  two  facts  stand  out  plainly :  (1)  Growing 
interest  and  a  deepened  sense  of  responsibility  in  the 
Christian  Church,  concerning  Islam  universal ;  (2)  great 
movements  of  incalculable  portent  in  the  Moslem  world. 

This  manifest  awakening  among  the  Lord's  children, 
the  Spirit-directed  prayer,  the  unprecedented  situation 
throughout  the  whole  Moslem  world,  is  surely  God's  clear 
call  to  His  Church.  Has  not  the  time  fully  come  for  the 
servants  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  enter  the  very  strong- 
holds of  Islam  ?  Should  His  Gospel  not  be  proclaimed, 
and  the  Saviour  uplifted,  that  multitudes  of  Moslems 
may  be  blessed?  This  brings  us  to  a  very  practical 
question  concerning  Islam  in  China. 

The  conditions  of  Islam  in  China  vary  very  greatly  in 
the  different  districts  ;  probably  no  two  provinces  would 
give  the  same  report.  In  some  districts  there  is  great 
stagnation  and  dense  ignorance  in  Moslem  circles.  In 
other  districts  an  entirely  different  report  is  presented. 
I  quote  two  reports  ;  and  there  are  all  shades  of  activity 
and  influence  between  these  two  reports  found  in  the 
Moslem  centres  in  China. 

"  The  Mohammedans  here  have  never  been  very  flour- 
ishing since  the  rebellion  when  so  many  were  killed,  and 
all  that  were  left  were  scattered  all  around  the  district. 
They  are  mostly  very  ignorant,  and  there  are  very  few 
who  know  intelligently  anything  about  their  own  religion. 
There  are  still  some  who  can  read  Arabic,  but  Islam  is 
practically  at  a  standstill.  After  the  rebellion,  there  was 
a  good  deal  of  intermarrying  with  the  Chinese,  and  since 
that  time  Islam  has  never  been  so  flourishing. " 


240  Islam  and  Missions 

"The  Mohammedans  here  are  making  special  efforts 
at  this  time  in  the  establishment  of  schools ;  Arabic  is 
being  taught  on  a  bigger  scale  j  and  one  man  is  doing 
much  for  Islam  here."  Leaving  these  two  reports  we 
notice  in  the  recent  correspondence  two  points  of  in- 
terest j  Islam  is  increasing  by  birth  rate,  and  just  now,  a 
new  spirit,  a  growing  energy,  is  present  in  Islam  in 
China.  May  we  draw  attention  to  the  following  four 
statements  : 

(1)  No    organized  work    has   yet  been  commenced 
amongst  the  Moslems  in  China. 

That  a  people  whose  numbers  equal,  if  they  do  not  ex- 
ceed the  number  of  Mohammedans  in  North  Africa, 
should  not  yet  have  had  one  worker  set  apart  to  minister 
to  their  spiritual  need  is  cause  for  serious  thought  and 
earnest  prayer. 

(2)  Blessing  has  attended  the  efforts  of  those  who, 
amid  the  pressure  of  work  among  the  heathen,  have 
sought  to  make  the  Gospel  known  to  the  Moslem  also. 

Several  missionaries  have  attempted  to  meet  the  ap- 
palling need  in  their  localities,  and  God  has  blessed  their 
efforts.  Some  of  the  strong  prejudice  has  been  over- 
come, grave  misunderstanding  concerning  the  truth  has 
been  cleared  away,  friendly  relations  so  necessary  in 
Moslem  work  have  been  established,  and  some  Moham- 
medans have  been  converted  in  China,  of  whom  a  few 
are  now  preaching  the  Gospel.  I  have  never  heard  of 
the  conversion  of  a  Chinese  Mulla. 

(3)  Islam  is  practically  at  a  "  standstill  >  >  now  in  China. 
Careful  investigation  by  those  on   the  spot,  and  in 

touch  with  Islam  reveals  absolutely  no  active  propaganda 
amongst  the  Chinese.  Two  districts  report  "  Islam  here 
is  losing  ground  "  ;  but  as  other  districts  may  quite  pos- 
sibly have  an  increase  that  will  cover  the  two  provinces 
that  report  losing  ground,  and  all  the  others  except  per* 


Islam  in  China  241 

haps  Kan-su,  which  is  hard  to  gauge,  report  "at  a  stand- 
still," we  can  accept  the  statement  as  correct. 

(4)  The  Moslems  in  China,  however  much  neglected 
by  the  Christian  Church,  have  not  been  neglected  by  their 
fellow  believers  in  other  lands.  Mullas  from  India, 
Arabia  and  Turkey,  have  visited  and  are  visiting  many 
of  the  principal  mosques  in  China. 

One  or  more  Mullas  from  Turkey  have  visited  the  chief 
mosques  in  at  least  seven  provinces.  One  such  visitor 
has  been  in  China  four  years.  One  writer  of  world- wide 
fame  says  :  ' l  Two  men  made  their  appearance  in  this 
region  striving  to  rehabilitate  the  Mohammedan  faith  and 
usages.  They  got  some  reforms  introduced,  the  nature 
of  which  it  is  not  easy  to  learn.  They  spoke  in  Arabic 
to  the  Chinese  Mullas." 

In  addition  to  the  Mullas  from  the  West  who  have  at 
times  spent  several  months  at  one  given  mosque  of  im- 
portance, or  in  a  given  district,  there  is  at  present,  "  A 
cultured  Turkish  gentleman,  a  graduate  from  the  Cairo 
University,  now  residing  at  Peking.  This  Mulla  has 
been  in  China  about  two  years.  He  has  visited  most  of 
the  ' thirty-six'  mosques  in  Peking,  is  teaching  Arabic 
to  a  good  many  students,  and  is  doing  much  for  Islam  in 
Peking." 

This  new  energy  in  the  Moslem  faith  in  China  is  per- 
haps only  apparent  to  careful  observers  in  the  chief 
centres ;  but  it  is  there  most  unmistakably,  and  the 
Christian  Church  will  do  well  to  bear  it  in  mind. 

As  to  the  modifications  Islam  has  undergone  in  China, 
it  is  only  possible  here  to  indicate  a  few  on  the  surface. 
A  closer  acquaintance  with  Islam  as  it  exists  in  other 
lands  would  no  doubt  reveal  much  more  on  these  lines. 
There  are  certain  reasons  that  will  easily  account  for  this  ; 
the  Moslem  here  is  certainly  less  fanatical  than  the  fol- 
lower of  the  prophet  in  Moslem  lands. 


242  Islam  and  Missions 

The  Moslem  women  in  China  occupy  a  better  position 
than  their  sisters  in  lands  where  Islam  is  supreme,  and 
are  more  favoured  than  Moslem  women  in  India.  The 
Koranic  sanctions  in  the  matters  of  marriage  and  divorce, 
concubinage  and  slavery,  are  apparently  but  little  exer- 
cised ;  if  they  were  taken  advantage  of,  Islam  would  be 
brought  into  greater  disrepute  in  China.  Moslem 
women,  like  their  heathen  sisters,  have  suffered  not  a  lit- 
tle from  the  cruel  fashion  of  foot-binding.  Much  addi- 
tional sorrow  and  often  privation  has  come  to  her  through 
the  blighting  and  vicious  habit  of  opium-smoking  and 
opium-eating,  to  which  so  many  of  her  household,  male 
members  chiefly,  have  been  addicted.  (Both  practices 
now  are  happily  doomed  in  China,  but  by  no  means  at  an 
end  yet.)  But  the  Moslem  woman  has  not  had  to  wear  the 
veil,  nor  to  endure  the  isolation  and  bitter  jealousies  of 
harem  life.  Exactly  what  value  the  Chinese  Moslem 
places  on  his  women-folk,  it  would  be  difficult  to  state ; 
opinions  are  conflicting  ;  but  modified  by  Chinese  views 
he  probably  has  a  higher  opinion  of  them  than  the 
Moslem  in  lands  of  Islam.  But  so  long  as  the  Moham- 
medan finds  no  place  for  her  at  the  services  in  the 
mosques,  nor  thinks  it  necessary  to  enlighten  her  as  to 
religion  even  when  at  home,  Islam  lies  under  grave  re- 
proach in  its  treatment  of  Moslem  women. 

How  far  the  Moslems  in  China  are  worse  in  this 
respect  than  those  in  lands  of  Islam,  it  would  not  be  easy 
to  say.  But  one  has  frequently  met  with  Mohammedans 
who,  so  far  from  attending  the  weekly  services  in  the 
mosques,  had  no  idea  that  the  Moslem  service-day  had 
already  nearly  passed.  Outside  the  inner  circle  found  in 
the  mosques,  to  whom  these  remarks  do  not  apply,  the 
average  Mohammedan  in  China  is  notoriously  lax  in  his 
observance  of  the  usual  rites  and  ceremonies  of  Islam. 

The  well-known  breadth  and  all-inclusiveness  of  the 


Islam  in  China  243 

Chinaman  in  his  objects  of  worship  and  methods  of  ex- 
pressing the  same,  and  the  intermarriage  with  not  a  few 
Chinese  brides,  has  led  to  an  enlargement  of  Islam  that 
would  never  have  been  tolerated  by  its  founder.  As  in 
India,  so  it  has  come  to  pass  in  China,  not  a  few  Moham- 
medans have  adopted  and  with  an  Islamic  veneer  now 
practice  some  of  the  superstitions  of  the  idolaters  around. 
With  regard  to  the  custom  of  sometimes  taking  Chinese 
brides  where  daughters  of  the  faithful  are  insufficient,  it 
may  be  noticed  that  the  Mohammedan  will  never  give  a 
daughter  to  the  unbeliever. 

The  prevailing  laxness  in  belief,  in  carrying  out  the 
prescribed  rites  and  ceremonies,  and  the  laxness  in  desire 
to  spread  Islam  amongst  the  Chinese,  has  led  some  of  the 
visiting  Moslems  from  the  West  to  declare:  " Chinese 
Mohammedans  are  not  true  Moslems  at  all."  And  they 
have  done,  and  are  doing  their  best  to  put  fresh  life  into 
Islam  in  this  land. 

Not  in  any  craven  spirit,  not  in  fear  of  defeat,  but  in 
full  assurance  that  God  Jias  His  own  solution  for  each 
problem  as  it  arises,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  men- 
tion some  difficulties  likely  to  be  met  in  proclaiming  the 
Gospel  to  the  Moslems  in  China.  These  are  twofold  ; 
first,  those  usually  met  with  in  all  Moslem  work  ;  second, 
such  difficulties  as  are  specially  present  in  China.  In 
the  first  class  we  mention  the  following :  bigotry,  pride, 
self-satisfaction,  spiritual  indifference,  the  likely  outcome 
of  their  strong  belief  in  fate,  and  fear  of  persecution. 

In  the  second  class  we  mention  the  following  :  Arabic 
and  Chinese  are  both  needed  in  dealing  with  the  different 
classes  of  Mohammedans  ;  Arabic,  for  the  Mullas  and  the 
students  from  the  mosques ;  and  Chinese  for  the  masses 
who  know  practically  nothing  of  Arabic  or  the  Koran. 
While  all  speak  Chinese  they  almost  worship  Arabic  as 
the  medium  of  all  that  is  sacred  and  indispensable  in  re- 


244  Islam  and  Missions 

ligion.  The  greater  number  of  Mohammedans  in  China 
are  practically  ignorant  of  their  own  religion,  and  have 
little  useful  knowledge  of  either  the  written  Chinese  or 
of  Arabic.  This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at ;  any  one  who 
will  read  the  reports  from  lands  where  Islam  is  strong, 
will  find  that  this  dense  ignorance  is  only  one  of  the 
blighting  effects  of  the  spread  of  Islam.  In  June,  1910, 
a  well-known  worker  in  Egypt  wrote  that :  ' '  Even  in 
Egypt,  it  is  probable  that  not  more  than  five  per  cent,  of 
the  Moslems  can  read." 

After  a  long  search  for  a  suitable  equivalent  for  our 
term  God,  the  missionary  body  in  China  are  in  increasing 
numbers  favouring  the  term  "ShaDg-Ti" — Supreme 
Euler;  the  Eoman  Catholic  body  hold  to  "Tien-Chu" 
— Heavenly  Lord.  Other  terms  still  used  are  those  that 
mean  Spirit,  and  the  True  Spirit,  etc.  Now  the  Mo- 
hammedans have  a  term  of  their  own  that  had  been  in 
use  long  before  missions  were  started  in  China  j  whether 
the  term  "Shang-Ti" — Supreme  Euler — will  ever  take 
the  place  of  the  Moslem's  own  term  is  quite  a  question. 
The  Mohammedan  term  for  Allah  is  "Cheu-Chu" — 
True  Lord.  How  far  it  will  be  helpful  to  make  use  of 
the  Moslem' s  own  term — as  some  workers  do  amongst  the 
Moslems — and  of  other  religious  terms,  is  a  practical 
question.1 

With  not  a  little  hesitation,  and  realizing  the  very 
inadequate  treatment  of  this  important  subject,  a  few 
suggestions  are  here  offered. 

The  very  important  position  that  medical  missions 
occupy  in  Moslem  fields,  and  the  immense  possibilities 
of  such  work,  need  no  comment.  An  earnest  appeal  is 
here  made  to  the  whole  Church  of  God  to  open  up  medical 

1  The  number  of  deified  men  who  are  worshipped  in  China  under  the 
title  of  "  Shang-Ti,"  creates  in  the  Moslem  mind  a  further  barrier  to 
the  progress  of  the  Gospel. 


Islam  in  China  245 

missionary  work  commensurate  with  the  appalling  need 
in  China.  When  at  least  two  whole  provinces — Kuei- 
cheo,  and  Sin-kiaug — are  without  a  single  medical  mis- 
sionary, and  provinces  twice  as  large  as  England  have 
only  one  or  two  medical  missions,  it  is  without  our 
province  to  suggest  localities.  But  in  the  interests  of 
the  Moslems,  and  as  a  most  practical  effort  to  make 
known  the  Gospel  among  these  long- neglected  people, 
we  ask  that  medical  work  be  taken  up  in  all  untouched 
strongholds  of  Islam  in  China.  In  addition,  we  suggest 
that  in  the  provinces  where  the  Moslems  are  in  strong 
force  the  medical  staff  at  existing  Christian  hospitals  be 
strengthened,  especially  the  medical  missions  in  pro- 
vincial capitals.  The  addition  of  a  ward  to  mission 
hospitals  for  the  benefit  of  Mohammedans  would  in 
many  districts  be  greatly  appreciated.  Lastly,  could  not 
some  medical  missionary  with  experience  among  Moslems 
in  other  lands  be  set  free  to  inaugurate  this  important 
work? 

A  more  urgent  need,  a  wider  door  of  opportunity  than 
women's  work  for  women,  it  would  be  impossible  to  sug- 
gest. It  is  quite  true  that  in  some  districts  a  word  spoken 
quietly  by  those  in  power  in  the  mosques  leads  to  the 
apparent  closing  of  the  previously  open  doors  ;  but  this 
need  not  discourage  any  who  take  up  this  work.  We 
have  proved  again  and  again  that  such  closing  of  doors 
is  only  apparent  and  for  a  short  season;  in  answer  to 
believing  prayer  these  same  doors  reopen  as  widely  as 
before. 

Mission  stations  in  China  are,  very  frequently,  at  or 
near  the  large  cities.  These  large  centres  offer  special  in- 
ducement for  work  among  the  masses  of  Chinese.  But  in 
considering  the  needs  of  the  Chinese  Moslems,  we  should 
bear  in  mind  there  is  a  large  population  of  Moham- 
medans settled  in  the  country,  as  well  as  a  very  influential 


246  Islam  and  Missions 

population  often  at  the  provincial  capitals.  Both  classes 
need  to  be  remembered  ;  in  some  places  whole  villages  are 
practically  Moslem.  The  placing  of  a  few  workers  in 
these  important  country  centres  of  Moslem  influence 
would  be  a  great  gain  to  ordinary  work  among  the 
Chinese,  and,  at  the  same  time,  afford  full  scope  for  quiet 
testimony  as  to  the  truth,  and  an  open  door  for  the 
Nicodemus  type  of  inquirer.  Those  who  have  worked 
among  the  Mohammedans  and  visited  these  country 
colonies  of  followers  of  Islam  fully  realize  the  need  for 
such  workers. 

There  is  need  of  Arabic  speaking  missionaries.  By  no 
means  is  this  suggestion  placed  thus  low  on  our  list  ow- 
ing to  the  preceding  workers  being  of  greater  impor- 
tance !  It  would  be  much  nearer  the  mark  to  say  all 
suggested  workers  are  of  equal  importance,  of  equal 
urgency.  Among  Moslems  in  China,  there  is  the  high- 
est scope  and  real  need  for  workers  able  to  deal  with  all 
classes.  When  the  Church  of  the  Living  God  remembers 
that  there  are  in  China  more  than  ten  millions,  taking  the 
low  estimate,  of  Mohammedans  whose  creed  as  expressed 
by  themselves  is  "  Mohammed,  he  is  the  light  of  the 
world,  he  is  the  Chosen  One,"  we  do  not  believe  they  will 
turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  appeal. 

Here  is  the  need  for  Arabic  reading  and  speaking 
missionaries.  Some  who  have  retired  from  the  full  battle 
in  lands  of  Islam  might  render  invaluable  service  even 
by  visiting  China  for  a  few  months  or  longer.  The 
Siberian  trains  are  coming  to  China  crowded  with  pas- 
seDgers ;  could  not  some  missionary  with  experience  in 
Moslem  work  take  this  fortnight's  journey  and  spend 
some  mouths  in  making  the  Gospel  known  to  our  Mullas  ? 

Young  students  of  the  Koran,  Mullas  with  portions, 
whole  Korans  it  may  have  been,  have  come  to  our  gospel 
hall,  have  invited  discussion,  have  spent  hours  in  earnest, 


Islam  in  China  247 

animated,  but  generally  well-controlled  conversation. 
They  have  asked  us  to  discuss  in  Arabic  ;  they  have 
come  again  and  again,  and  at  the  close  of  these  long 
talks  have  said,  "It  is  most  unsatisfactory  discussing 
religion  in  Chinese.  Have  you  no  one  who  can  meet  us 
on  the  Koran,  no  one  who  can  meet  us  on  our  own 
ground?" 

The  Scriptures,  by  the  great  kindness  of  the  Bible 
societies,  have  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  those  who  in 
the  mosques  can  read  Arabic  ;  direct  testimony  has  been 
borne  by  lip  and  by  the  lives  of  converted  Chinese  to  the 
Living  Saviour  of  whom  they  know  so  little  j  but  each 
visit  from  such  Moslems  and  each  visit  to  the  larger 
mosques  deepens  the  sense  of  the  urgent  need  for  workers 
conversant  with  Arabic. 

In  these  days  of  wide- spread  testimony  to  Israel,  con- 
verted Jews  travel  through  many  lands,  carrying  the 
Gospel  to  their  own  people ;  may  we  suggest  that  a 
similar  privilege  be  granted  to  the  Mohammedans  in 
China?  From  India,  Arabia,  and  Turkey,  priests  of 
Islam  come  to  China  and  strengthen  the  faith  of  the 
Moslems.  Is  it  too  much  to  ask  that  some  converted 
Mullas,  there  are  many  such  in  India,  should  be  set  free 
and  helped  on  their  way  to  visit  the  followers  of  Islam 
in  China?  That  the  Chinese  Moslems  should  have  the 
opportunity  to  meet  and  converse  with  one  converted 
from  Islam  is  surely  both  reasonable  and  practical. 

A  commencement  is  now  being  made  with  tracts  in 
Chinese  ;  but  as  they  are  not  yet  available,  if  indeed 
translated,  the  need  of  special  literature  is  very  great. 
Tracts  dealing  with  the  great  subjects  that  are  so  often  a 
stumbling-block  to  the  Moslem  are  needed  in  Arabic  and 
Chinese.  I  have  known  a  Mohammedan  highly  indignant 
because  he  thought  the  Trinity  included  the  Virgin 
Mary.  The  nature  of  sin,  the  Atonement,  the  Divine 


248  Islam  and  Missions 

Sonship  of  Christ,  and  other  important  doctrines  need  to 
be  cleared  of  the  gross  mistakes  in  which  they  are  viewed 
by  followers  of  Islam.  Chinese  tracts  in  Moslem  mould 
with  a  plain  statement  of  the  truth,  and  by  preference 
with  title  page  printed  in  Chinese  and  Arabic  would  be  of 
great  value.  Other  tracts  needed  are  such  as  are  in  use 
in  India ;  short  extracts  from  the  Koran,  such  as,  "  ask 
pardon  for  thy  sins,"  in  Chinese  and  Arabic,  just  as  in 
India  there  are  such  in  English  and  Arabic.  A  brief 
and  moderate  account  of  the  life  of  the  prophet  of  Islam, 
carefully  avoiding  the  depths  of  iniquity  which  the 
masses  of  Moslems  know  little  about,  and  as  Dr.  Bruce 
of  Persia  used  to  maintain,  the  less  they  know  the  better. 

The  Arabic  tracts  required  for  the  Mullas  will  best  be 
decided  by  those  expert  in  this  language ;  I  know  of  no 
such  Christian  in  China. 

In  correspondence  with  friends  in  Cairo,  this  sugges- 
tion has  been  sent ;  we  gladly  give  it  a  place  in  the  list. 
' '  Let  some  missionaries  have  a  year  or  more  in  Egypt  to 
help  them  in  taking  up  work  among  the  Moslems  in 
China." 

Without  multiplying  organizations,  could  not  some 
plan  be  devised  to  unite  in  service,  and  to  strengthen  the 
hands  of  all  who  are  working  among  the  Moslems  in 
China! 


XVIII 
ISLAM  IN  EUSSIA 

MISS  JENNIE  VON  MEYER,  TIFLIS 

I  TAKE  for  granted  that  you  realize  what  "  Eussia" 
means:  A  state  covering  2,816,143  square  miles, 
with  one  hundred  and  fifty  million  inhabitants,  be- 
longing to  about  forty  nationalities  and  tribes,  confessing 
something  like  twenty  different  religious  creeds.  I  take 
for  granted  also  that  you  realize  what  Islam  in  Eussia 
means  :  twenty  million  followers  of  the  false  prophet,  be- 
longing to  about  seventeen  nationalities  and  tribes,  but 
forming  one  great  Moslem  family  ;  the  one  short  creed  : 
"  There  is  no  god  but  God,  and  Mohammed  is  the  prophet 
of  God  "  moulding  into  one  these  twenty  millions  with 
all  their  differences  of  blood,  race,  occupation,  ambition. 
You,  who  know  Islam,  will  expect  to  find  the  Moslem  in 
Eussia  the  same  as  everywhere  :  the  fanatical,  intolerant, 
proud  believer,  steadily  pushing  on  the  spread  of  his 
creed,  caring  neither  for  civil  nor  ecclesiastical  power 
when  he  finds  it  encroaching  upon  his  sacred  right  to  per- 
fect liberty  of  creed  and  religious  practice.  Such  you 
know  the  Moslem  in  Africa,  in  East  and  Central  Asia, 
and  such  we  find  him  in  Eussia. 

We  cannot  here  trace  the  history  of  Islam  in  Eussia,  or 
even  the  state  of  Islam  in  Eussia  at  the  present  time  ;  this 
has  been  done  by  more  than  one  competent  person  and 
has  been  presented  to  friends  of  missionary  work  in  a 
short  essay  by  Dr.  S.  M.  Zwemer  in  the  Missionary  Re- 
view of  the  World,  and  lately  in  a  paper  by  Mrs.  Sophia 
Bobrovnikoff,  whose  close  acquaintance  with  Eussian 

249 


250  Islam  and  Missions 

Moslems  in  the  Volga  districts,  and  whose  special  study  of 
the  subject  enabled  her  to  make  a  more  masterly  and  full 
treatment  of  the  question  of  Islam  in  Eussia  than  I  can 
claim.  In  her  paper  Mrs.  Bobrovnikoff  only  touched  the 
question  which  occupies  our  attention  for  a  moment 
to-day  :  what  is  done  over  the  length  and  breadth  of 
Eussia,  including  Siberia  and  Eussian  Central  Asia,  by 
the  State  Church  and  by  the  Protestant  communities  and 
believers  individually  to  reach  Moslems  with  the  message 
of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God  and  the  Saviour  of  man- 
kind? 

Let  us  first  briefly  examine  what  the  State  Church  (the 
Greek  Orthodox  Church)  has  done  for  the  spread  of  the 
Gospel  amongst  Moslems  in  European  Eussia.  You 
know  already  from  the  paper  of  Mrs.  Bobrovnikoff  that 
at  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  when  the  Khanate  of 
Kazan  was  conquered,  a  part  of  the  Tatars  were  baptized 
and  are  ever  since  called  the  ll  anciently  baptized."  But 
left  without  spiritual  guidance  and  care  they  were  and 
continue  to  be  Christians  only  in  name.  Then  followed  a 
long  period  of  absolute  lack  of  any  missionary  work  what- 
ever on  the  part  of  the  Church  among  the  originally 
Moslem,  and  Moslemized  heathen  tribes  of  the  Volga 
districts. 

About  1860  Professor  Ilrninsky  from  Kazan  began  his 
splendid  work.  He  understood  the  enormous  importance 
of  the  vernacular  in  reaching  heathen  and  Moslems  with 
the  Gospel  and  with  European  culture  and  literature. 
And  so,  by  translations  of  the  Gospels  and  the  liturgy  in 
the  vernacular ;  by  schools,  where  the  Gospel  and 
science  were  taught,  also  in  the  vernacular  ;  by  creating  a 
staff  of  thoroughly  trained  and  enthusiastic  native  teachers, 
he  reached  thousands  of  heathen  Moslems.  He  and  his 
followers  through  church  and  school  brought  the  Gospel 
to  those  who,  being  subject  to  and  making  part  of  a  so- 


Islam  in  Russia  251 

called  Christian  government,  had  stayed  for  centuries 
practically  without  the  influence  of  Jesus  Christ  and 
His  word. 

In  Siberia,  after  its  conquest  in  the  end  of  the  six- 
teenth  century,  no  effort  was  made  to  reach  the  Tatar 
tribes  which  inhabited  the  northwest.  We  hear  of  no 
organized  missionary  campaign  before  the  beginning  of 
the  eighteenth  century ;  and  even  then  it  was  done  for 
the  heathen  tribes  in  the  district  of  Tobolsk  only,  the 
Moslems  living  there  being  spoken  of  as  fanatical 
enemies  of  missionary  work,  as  they  were  busily  engaged 
in  propagating  Islam.  We  receive  the  impression  from 
the  reports  of  the  orthodox  missionary  pioneers  that  then, 
as  now,  the  Tatars  were  considered  to  be  nearly  inacces- 
sible to  evangelization.  We  must  add,  that  the  "  evan- 
gelization "  of  heathen  and  Moslems  by  the  Greek  Or- 
thodox Church  was  done  in  those  far-off  days  in  a  still 
more  formal,  hasty  way  than  it  is  now  done  ;  whole 
pagan  tribes  being  baptized  and  reckoned  to  be  Christians 
after  a  few  days  of  preaching  and  instruction  ;  the  mis- 
sionaries not  knowing  even  the  languages  spoken  by 
the  people  they  baptized.  Here  just  as  in  the  Volga 
districts  missionary  work  ceased  soon  after  it  had  begun 
and  darkness  spread  again  over  the  tribes  of  North- 
western Siberia  for  more  than  a  half  century  till  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  ;  but  even  then  no 
special  work  for  Moslems  was  done  here. 

South  of  the  Tobolsk  district,  stretching  down  towards 
Turkestan,  the  immense  plains  were  inhabited  by  the 
Kirghis  tribes,  who  were  heathen.  In  the  beginning  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  when  "  the  Apostle  of  the  Altai, " 
the  reverend  Father  Macary  crossed  these  plains  to  reach 
the  Altai,  and  perceived  the  state  of  these  millions  of 
heathen,  he  asked  the  Eussian  government  to  allow  him 
to  begin  missionary  work  amongst  the  Kirghis.  But  he 


252  Islam  and  Missions 

was  told  that  these  people  were  as  yet  too  wild  and 
savage  to  be  accessible  to  the  Gospel !  But  soon  after 
other  missionaries,  not  depending  upon  the  good-will  of 
any  government  and  having  more  zeal  and  understand- 
ing, occupied  this  field  and  won  the  whole  of  the  Kirghis 
tribe  to  the  faith  of  Islam.  And  as  in  more  than  one 
part  of  the  earth,  so  here,  the  Christian  missionary  has 
now  to  fight,  not  the  weak  and  beggarly  elements  of  an 
animistic  religion,  but  the  seemingly  inaccessible  granite 
fortress  of  Islam  !  We  do  not  find  then,  till  the  end  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  any  special,  organized  missionary 
work  among  the  Moslems  of  North,  West  and  Central 
Siberia. 

About  the  middle  of  the  last  century  the  Greek  Ortho- 
dox Church  awoke  to  a  more  vivid  sense  of  its  duty ; 
and  since  then  we  find  an  ever- widening  number  of  mis- 
sionary stations  covering  East  Eussia  and  Siberia.  We 
must  make  special  mention  of  the  Greek  Orthodox  Mis- 
sionary Society  which  was  founded  at  Moscow  about  1870. 
It  enlisted  from  the  beginning  the  interest  and  aid  of 
many  learned  and  noble  men  and  women  ;  but  through 
the  agency  of  the  parish  priests  this  interest  spread  also 
among  the  common  people,  a  great  enthusiasm  for  mis- 
sionary work  was  aroused  and  money  and  lives  were 
offered.  The  General  Committee  has  its  centre  and  seat 
in  Moscow,  but  a  vast  net  of  parochial  committees  serve 
to  bring  the  public  all  over  Eussia  in  contact  with  the 
needs  of  the  empire  and  to  transmit  to  them  the  news  of 
failure  or  success,  receiving  in  exchange  men  and  money. 
During  the  first  twenty-five  years  of  its  activity  the 
Orthodox  Missionary  Society  was  in  especial  favour  with 
the  public.  It  spent  two  million  dollars  for  missionary 
work  in  the  Volga  districts,  densely  inhabited  by 
Moslems  and  heathen,  and  in  seven  districts  of  Siberia. 
One  hundred  and  five  thousand  souls  received  baptism  ; 


Islam  in  Russia  253 

how  many,  or  rather  how  few  of  these  had  been  Moslems, 
cannot  be  shown.  The  methods  that  were  used  were  the 
same  as  everywhere  in  non-Christian  lands;  namely, 
preaching,  schools,  a  beginning  of  medical  missions, 
monasteries,  children's  homes. 

The  importance  of  bringing  the  Gospel  and  teaching 
the  people  in  their  own  language  was  understood  by 
every  one  and  we  find  missionary  centres  for  translating 
and  printing  the  Gospels,  the  liturgy,  and  school-books 
at  Kazan,  in  the  Trans-Baikal,  and  in  the  Altai  mission 
centres.  The  work  of  the  Kazan  translation  committee,  j' 
especially,  can  never  be  forgotten.  We  gather  from 
Mrs.  Bobrovnikoff's  report  that  about  two  million  copies 
of  800  or  900  writings  in  seventeen  to  twenty  languages 
have  been  printed  in  the  last  forty  years. 

In   1900  we  find  the  Orthodox  Missionary  Society  at 
work  independently  or  helping  parish  work  and  educa- 
tional missionary  work  in  eight  districts  in  Siberia  and 
in  fourteen  Eussian  provinces.    Missionary  effort,  though 
mostly  amongst  heathen  yet  reaching  a  great  number  of , 
Moslems  everywhere,  has  spread  down  to  the  Caucasus, 
where  an  independent  missionary  society  has  been  at 
work    for    some  time.     Work  was  being  done  in  the 
provinces  along  the  Ural  and  in  the  southeast  of  Russia 
among  the  Turkomans,  and  in  the  west  and  southwest 
among  the  Kirghis.     The  number  of  baptisms  has  di- 
minished to  about  4,000  a  year,  and  conversions  among 
the  Mohammedans  are  few.     The  same  forms  of  mission- 
ary work  are  in  use.     Five  years  later,  in  1905,  we  find 
a  still  more  noticeable  diminution  of  baptisms,  especially 
in  comparison  with  those  of  the  first  twenty-five  years. 
Only  three  thousand  are  reported.     But  a  fact  of  still 
greater  importance  is  to  be  noted  ;  Moslem  propaganda  i 
is  gaining  in  strength,  Mohammedan  influence  is  grow-  * 
ing,   while  Christian  influence,  as  represented  by  the 


254  Islam  and  Missions 

Eussian  Church,  is  weaker.  The  unlucky  war  with  Ja- 
pan and  the  proclamation  of  liberty  of  conscience  have 
done  their  work.  Forty  thousand  formerly  baptized 
Mohammedans  and  heathen  have  returned  into  paganism 
and  Islam,  and  Islam  especially  comes  out  of  this  crisis 
strengthened  and  more  aggressive  than  ever  before. 

In  1908  there  was  a  total  of  only  1,670  baptisms,  of 
which  only  forty-four  were  Mohammedans.  But  the 
number  of  apostasies  has  diminished.  All  in  all  the 
Greek  Orthodox  Missionary  Society  has  spent  in  forty 
years  from  three  to  five  million  dollars  ;  it  works  in 
nine  Siberian  districts  and  sixteen  Eussian  provinces, 
and  it  has  also  a  mission  in  Japan  and  one  in  Alaska. 
It  now  has  126  missionary  centres,  400  missionaries,  700 
schools  with  19,000  pupils. 

Let  us  now  consider  briefly  each  district  by  itself; 
in  several  we  can  exclude  almost  altogether  Moslem  in- 
fluence and  missionary  work  amongst  Mohammedans ; 
of  such,  for  instance,  are  the  north  and  the  far  east  of 
Siberia,  though  even  here  we  find  Tatars  in  small  num- 
bers in  nearly  every  town.  In  Central  and  East  Central 
Siberia,  as,  for  instance,  in  the  Trans-Baikal,  the  prov- 
ince of  Irkutsk,  and  the  Altai,  mission  work  is  directed 
specially  against  Buddhist  influence,  which  for  the  past 
ten  years  has  become  a  real  danger  and  an  enemy  of 
Christian  work.  Part  of  the  Altai  and  the  centre  and 
north  of  the  province  of  Yeniseisk  are  inhabited  by 
Shaman ists,  who,  though  for  the  most  part  baptized 
and  officially  considered  to  be  Christians,  live  and  die 
without  Christ.  In  the  southern  part  of  the  Yeniseisk 
province,  especially  in  the  Minusinsk  district,  are  many 
Tatars,  mostly  belonging  to  the  "  anciently  baptized." 
But  they  are  not  enlightened  in  the  Christian  faith, 
which  they  nominally  profess,  and  we  read  of  very  few 
baptisms  amongst  the  Mohammedan  Tatars  of  this  region. 


Islam  in  Russia  255 

Moving  westward,  we  come  to  the  vast  territories  of 
Semipalatinsk  and  Akmolinsk,  peopled  by  the  Kirghis 
tribe.  We  have  seen  already  that  this  formerly  pagan 
tribe  accepted  Islam  only  about  fifty  years  ago.  For  a 
number  of  years  the  Orthodox  Missionary  Society  has 
carried  on  work  there,  and  in  1908  there  were  seven 
missionary  centres  with  twenty-two  missionaries,  twelve 
schools,  thirteen  churches,  but,  alas,  the  number  of  con- 
verts is  small!  It  must  be  admitted  that  missions 
among  the  Kirghis  present  special  difficulties,  of  which 
we  shall  hear  further  on  ;  let  us  only  say  that  the 
Kirghis  is  characterized  by  an  indifference  to  religious 
truths  which  makes  it  hard  for  missionaries  to  gain 
any  hold  upon  his  conscience  and  will.  Even  Islam 
has  not  yet  succeeded  in  making  the  Kirghis  into  fa- 
natical Moslems  ;  they  still  hold  some  pagan  beliefs  and 
practices.  During  the  last  fifteen  years  600  baptisms 
are  reported.  The  newly  baptized  Kirghis  are  gathered 
into  special  colonies  and  cared  for  materially  and  spir- 
itually. 

We  come  next  to  the  northwest  of  Siberia  and  the 
district  of  Tobolsk.  Here  missionary  work  among  pagan 
tribes  was  begun  200  years  ago  ;  after  some  years  it 
stopped,  and  the  newly  baptized  converts  were  left  to 
themselves.  A  hundred  years  ago  the  work  was  again 
undertaken  and  has  continued  ever  since.  But  organ- 
ized missionary  effort  for  Mohammedans  was  only 
opened  ten  years  ago  by  the  "  Tobolsk  Central  Anti- 
Moslem  Missionary  Society."  Seventy  thousand  Mo-( 
hammedans  are  reported  to  live  in  this  district.  Four-] 
teen  missionaries  are  working  here,  all  of  whom  are  them-' 
selves  baptized  Tatars.  They  are  full  of  zeal.  Work  is1 
done  by  preaching,  by  discussions,  by  spreading  of  Gos- 
pels and  tracts  in  the  Tobolsk  Tatar  dialect.  There  are 
no  special  missionary  schools.  In  ten  years  eighty  souls 


256  Islam  and  Missions 

have  been  baptized.  Here,  as  everywhere,  Islam  has 
grown  stronger,  many  schools  have  been  opened  by  the 
Tatars,  and  mission  work  is  becoming  more  difficult. 

If  we  now  cross  the  Ural  Mountains  and  look  into 
Eussia  proper,  we  find  a  dense  Mohammedan  population 
in  the  Volga  district,  also  along  the  western  slopes  of 
the  Ural  and  southward  to  the  Aral  and  Caspian  Seas. 
In  the  Volga  provinces  missionary  work  is  being  done 
in  heathen  and  Mohammedan  towns  and  villages  by 
quite  an  army  of  priests,  teachers,  and  colporteurs. 
There  are  parochial  missionary  committees,  there  is  the 
missionary  Brotherhood  of  St.  Gouri  at  Kazan  doing 
educational  work,  and  the  Orthodox  Missionary  Society 
helping  these  or  doing  independent  work.  The  system 
of  Professor  Ilminsky  (by  which  heathen  and  Moham- 
medans are  taught  and  evangelized  in  their  own  lan- 
guage) is  in  use  in  all  the  missionary  schools  and 
churches ;  while  the  Kazan  Mission  Press  supplies  all 
the  workers  with  the  books  needed  in  all  the  dialects 
spoken  in  this  vast  region.  Here  are  several  central 
schools  for  Chuvash  and  Tatar  children,  who  thence 
pass  into  the  seminary  for  teachers.  These  young  men 
and  women  bring  Christian  religion  and  culture  into 
hundreds  of  villages  and  thousands  of  homes.  There 
are  here  medical  missions,  classes  for  adults,  and  educa- 
tional homes  for  children — Tatar,  Chuvash,  Cheremiss,  \ 
and  Bashkir.  It  is  in  this  part  of  Eussia  that  most  is 
done  to  win  Mohammedans  to  the  Christian  faith  as 
represented  by  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church.  But  as 
the  missionaries  have  to  do  here  with  Tatars,  the  work 
is  particularly  difficult  and  rather  unfruitful,  if  we  ex- 
cept the  baptisms  en  masse  of  the  "  anciently  baptized." 
The  Tatars  have  a  certain  fanatical,  proud,  exclusive 
bent  of  mind,  and  are  very  active  missionaries  for  Islam. 

We  see  this  also  in  the  Crimea,  which  is  peopled  by 


Islam  in  Russia  257 

Tatars  and  Turks.  Since  1900  work  has  been  done 
there  by  members  of  the  Crimean  Parochial  Missionary 
Society.  Their  methods  of  work  are  twofold.  An  itin- 
erating missionary,  well  acquainted  with  the  Turkish  and 
Arabic  languages,  travels  over  hills  and  valleys  exhort- 
ing, preaching,  and  distributing  Christian  literature  in 
the  vernacular.  So  far,  every  year  from  two  to  five  souls 
have  been  baptized.  Besides  this  work,  missionaries  are 
being  prepared  for  this  field  in  ecclesiastical  schools  and 
seminaries  where  Turkish  and  Arabic  are  taught,  with 
the  Koran  and  apologetics.  The  work  among  the  Cri- 
mean Tatars  is  said  to  have  been  particularly  difficult 
in  the  beginning.  Here  also  there  were  apostasies  to 
Islam  after  the  proclamation  of  religious  liberty  in  1905. 
But  now  the  Moslems  seem  to  be  more  friendly.  The 
Crimean  Missionary  Society 's  report  shows  a  spirit  of 
brotherly  love  and  faith. 

In  the  east  and  southeast  of  European  Russia,  as  for 
instance  in  the  provinces  of  Yekaterinburg,  Ufa,  the  Ural 
district,  Orenburg,  Astrakhan,  and  the  region  of  Kuban, 
are  to  be  found  more  or  less  developed  educational  and 
medical  mission  work,  parish  work  among  the  "anciently 
baptized,'7  and  tours  through  the  sandy  steppes  with 
word  and  literature.  Here  and  there  colonies  for  con- 
verts from  Islam  have  been  founded.  But  wherever  the 
Mohammedans,  whether  Kirghis,  Bashkirs,  Turkomans 
or  other  tribes,  live  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Tatars,  they 
infallibly  come  under  their  influence  and  the  battle  is 
made  more  strenuous  for  the  Christian  missionary.  In 
the  steppes,  as  in  the  towns  and  villages,  an  ever-growing) 
Moslem  propaganda  is  going  on,  the  Mullas  wandering^ 
far  and  wide  to  make  proselytes,  to  strengthen  the  weak 
in  faith,  while  material  help  is  always  at  hand  and  freely 
given  to  the  newly  converted  or  for  the  building  of 
schools  and  mosques. 


258  Islam  and  Missions 

After  this  short  survey  of  missionary  work  in  Russia 
and  Siberia,  let  us  now  look  at  Eussian  Central  Asia,  or 
Turkestan,  and  the  two  Khanates  of  Bokhara  and  Khiva. 
This  vast  territory  stretches  from  the  eastern  shore  of 
the  Caspian  Sea  towards  the  western  frontier  of  China 
and  from  the  Aral  Sea  and  the  Kirghis  steppes  in  the 
north  to  the  snow-covered  mountain  ranges  which 
separate  Afghanistan  from  the  Eussian  Empire.  Im- 
bedded in  this  Eussian  dominion,  we  find  the  Khanates 
of  Bokhara  and  Khiva,  which  in  a  certain  measure  be- 
long to  it  and  depend  upon  it.  There  are  here  about 
seven  million  Moslems  for  whom  we  are  responsible  be- 
fore God  since  we  Eussians  are,  for  the  moment,  the  only 
Christians  who  can  influence  them  for  good  or  for  evil, 
who  can  draw  them  to  Christ  or  let  them  alone  to  follow 
Mohammed  !  In  this  we  may  say  almost  entirely  Moslem 
land,  no  missionary  work  is  being  done  by  the  Greek 
Orthodox  Church.  This  I  myself  had  opportunity  to 
learn  when  travelling  there  some  months  ago. 

I  have  now  given  a  brief  statement  of  the  mission- 
ary activity  of  the  State  Church  of  Eussia  gathered  as  I 
could  do  it  from  missionary  reports  and  other  written  or 
oral  sources  at  my  disposal.  I  shall  now  try  to  view 
this  work  under  three  heads ;  considering  briefly  :  (1) 
What  goes  to  help  forward  the  missionary  efforts  of  the 
State  Church?  (2)  'What  is  there  in  the  religious, 
clerical  and  administrative  peculiarities  of  the  Greek 
Orthodox  Church  that  hinders  missionary  work?  (3) 
What  may  we  expect  for  the  future  of  State  Church  mis- 
sionary efforts  among  Moslems?  What  is  the  spiritual 
attitude  of  the  missionaries,  what  is  their  message  for  the 
Mohammedans  to  whom  they  go  or  among  whom  they 
live? 

(1)  In  a  certain  way  the  Orthodox  Missionary  So- 
ciety's work  profits  through  being  done  by  agents  of  the 


Islam  in  Russia  259 

State  Church.  Work  is  allowed  to  be  undertaken,  to 
grow,  and  to  develop,  no  fear  being  felt  by  the  govern- 
ment or  the  Holy  Synod,  as  to  its  being  sectarian  or 
evangelical.  Its  way  is  smooth,  the  police  will  not  inter- 
fere with  it,  there  will  be  no  persecution  for  the  Gospel's 
sake.  The  priests,  teachers  and  missionaries  are  officials 
of  the  State  Church.  In  principle,  at  least,  these  Church 
officials  may  at  any  time  and  in  any  emergency  appeal 
for  help  and  protection  to  the  local  authorities,  which 
acknowledge  the  State  Church  missions  to  be  politically 
and  dogmatically  reliable.  Converts  from  paganism  or 
Islam  have  enjoyed,  and  I  suppose  they  enjoy  even  now 
in  a  certain  measure,  certain  privileges,  such  as  material 
help,  three  years'  freedom  from  taxes,  etc.  Then  also 
help  in  money  is  more  easily  to  be  had  :  the  Holy  Synod, 
the  parochial  committees,  the  bulk  of  the  public,  both 
upper  and  lower  classes,  so  far  as  they  are  at  all  interested 
in  missions,  counting  it  meritorious  to  help  the  Orthodox 
Church  in  its  missionary  efforts  to  propagate  the  "  Holy 
Orthodox  Faith." 

(2)  Of  the  hindrances  to  missionary  work  done  by 
the  State  Church,  we  will  mention  first  those  which  are 
external.  Though  in  principle  local  authorities  are 
bound  to  aid  missionaries  and  their  work,  yet  practically 
this  aid  is  not  always  given.  We  read  in  the  missionary 
reports  of  many  cases  where  high  and  low  officials  have 
failed  to  aid  missionaries.  We  may  mention  here  also 
that  missionaries,  in  fact,  are  not  highly  esteemed  but  are 
regarded  as  rather  a  nuisance  by  a  great  part  of  Eussian 
administrators  as  well  as  by  the  public. 

Another  impediment  to  successful  work  in  heathen  on 
Moslem  parts  of  the  empire  is  the  fact  that  the  local  au-/ 
thorities,  being  themselves  heathen  or  Moslems,  are  of 
course  opposed  to  missionary  work  in  their  regions  and 
exercise  all  their  power  and  craft  to  hinder  Christian  in- 


260  Islam  and  Missions 

fluence  from,  spreading  and  their  co-religionists  from 
being  converted  ;  by  threats  and  actual  maltreatment 
they  often  retain  timid  bat  inquiring  souls  in  their  old 
faith.  Another  hindrance  is  experienced  by  converts 
from  nomadic  tribes  like  the  Kirghis  and  Kalmucks! 
(Buddhists).  Such  converts  when  they  are  baptized  lose 
all  share  in  the  land  from  which  they  and  their  cattle 
drew  their  sustenance.  The  land  belongs  to  the  clan, 
not  to  the  individual,  and  whoever  leaves  his  clan  finds 
himself  absolutely  without  land,  money,  or  work.  Un- 
fortunately the  commission  for  distributing  free  govern- 
ment lands  has  been  slow  in  allotting  land  for  colonies 
where  newly  baptized  converts  could  begin  a  new  life. 
By  this  attitude  of  officials  many  converts  have  had  to 
suffer  much.  The  orthodox  missionaries  do  what  they 
can,  but  that  is  not  much,  to  provide  lands  and  work  for 
these  u exiles  for  faith's  sake,"  and,  as  we  saw  above, 
some  colonies  have  been  founded. 

Another  hindrance  is  the  lack  of  men.  Not  many  can  j 
be  found  to  go  out  for  a  missionary's  life  in  the  steppes, 
for  instance,  or  in  the  virgin  forests  of  North  Siberia,  or 
the  mountains  of  the  Altai.  Many  do  go,  of  course.  But  if 
we  consider  the  particularly  intense  spirit  of  self-sacrifice, 
for  which  the  Eussian  man  and  woman  are  justly  famous, 
we  are  grieved  to  see  how  few  of  the  heroes  and  heroines, 
who  for  a  political  idea  will  gladly  suffer  and  die,  choose 
the  arduous  life  of  the  messenger  of  Christ !  Missionary 
work  is  considered  "sham,"  "  humbug,"  a  way  of  mak- 
ing an  easy  living,  not  worthy  of  any  good  man  or 
woman's  life-blood  !  This  lack  of  men  is  the  reason  why 
so  much  is  left  undone ;  and  it  happens  in  many  a  place 
that  the  priest,  who  has  been  sent  as  a  missionary  to  seek 
and  gather  those  who  are  as  yet  outside  the  Church, 
spends  his  whole  time  and  strength  in  parish  work,  being 
thus  diverted  from  his  true  vocation. 


Islam  in  Russia  261 

We  must  also  mention  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  lan- 
guages spoken  by  the  heathen  and  Moslems  to  whom  the 
missionary  is  sent.  This  hindrance  tends  more  and  more 
to  disappear,  since  missionaries  are  now  frequently  chosen 
from  among  converts  and  sent  back  to  bring  their  kins- 
men the  Gospel  in  their  mother  tongue. 

Not  the  least  of  these  hindrances  is  the  lack  of  funds  to 
sustain  and  expand  the  work.  The  mission  field  is  very 
extensive,  and  friends  are  getting  fewer  and  less  generous 
as  the  spirit  of  indifference  and  even  of  religious  hostility 
gains  ground  among  the  orthodox  population,  both  high 
and  low. 

Another  difficulty  in  missionary  work  is  the  extremely  j 
severe  climate,  in  the  north  and  east  of  Siberia,  for  in- 
stance ;  and  the  wandering  life  of  the  nomad  tribes  in  the 
south  and  southeast  of  Siberia,  which  makes  any  close 
and  constant  influence  nearly  impossible,  unless  the  mis- 
sionary joins  the  tribes  in  their  wanderings.  This  indeed 
is  the  proper  thing  to  do. 

Last  but  not  least,  the  development  in  the  past  decade 
of  Moslem  propaganda,  the  increase  of  low  and  middle 
schools  with  new  programmes  adopted  to  European  exigen- 
cies, the  liberal  help  given  to  co-religionists  or  converts 
into  Islam,  are  all  hindrances  to  Christian  missionary 
work  by  the  Orthodox  Church.  What  counts  much 
against  success  is  also  the  fact  that  in  the  hands  of  the 
State  Church  missionary  work  has  often  been  Russianiz- 
ing work.  To  be  a  good  citizen  and  to  be  a  Christian  is 
thought  to  be  synonymous.  So  that  for  the  heathen  and 
Moslem  the  Russian  missionary  is  only  a  Russian  official ; 
not  only  the  man  of  another  race  and  of  another  faith, 
but  the  representative  of  the  government  to  whom  he  now 
owes  allegiance.  We  can  understand  how,  with  the 
spread  of  pan-Islamic  tendencies,  this  preaching  of  the 
Russian  faith  by  Russian  Church  officials  will  make 


262  Islam  and  Missions 

missionary  work  more  and  more  difficult  and  unsuc 
cessful. 

This  leads  us  to  the  spiritual  causes  of  failure.  The 
orthodox  missionary,  being  sent  out  by  his  ecclesiastical 
authorities,  is  not  always  expected  to  be  converted  him- 
self, a  spiritually  newly- born  man,  as  we  Protestants  un- 
derstand it.  It  is  not  always  solely  the  love  of  Christ, 
which  constrained  him  to  go  out ;  he  may  have  been  sent 
out  because  of  intellectual  capability,  or  knowledge  of 
the  language,  or  he  may  have  chosen  to  go  out  because  of 
advantages  of  a  rather  low  nature.  He,  being  himself 
often  an  unspiritual  man,  not  having  experienced  in  his 
own  heart  the  power  of  Jesus  Christ  to  make  all  things  new, 
cannot  transmit  this  power  to  others.  He  cannot  sing  the 
praise  of  the  love  of  God,  not  having  received  himself 
the  precious  gift  of  a  Saviour  !  The  sad  state  of  many 
orthodox  missionaries  has  made  the  whole  class  a  some- 
what despised  and  suspiciously  treated  group  of  men. 
Not  many  believe  in  the  good  faith  and  unselfish  purpose 
of  a  missionary  !  One  does  not  credit  him  with  any  love 
for  souls  !  But  having  said  so  much  to  his  discredit,  let 
us  do  justice  to  the  Orthodox  Church,  which  does  in  a 
certain  measure  the  work  to  which  it  is  called  by  its 
heavenly  Master,  handicapped  though  it  is  by  external 
and  internal  hindrances,  let  us  admit  that  among  the  or- 
thodox missionaries  there  may  be  and  certainly  are  not 
a  few  men  of  faith  and  love  and  self-denial,  whom  the 
Lord  will  acknowledge  as  His  own  good  and  faithful 
servants.  But  it  is  not  only  the  whole  machinery,  which 
savours  too  much  of  this  world,  not  only  the  lack  of 
spiritual  men,  it  is  the  form  in  which  Christianity  is  pre- 
sented to  heathen  and  to  Moslems,  which  dooms  mission' 
ary  effort  to  be  more  or  less  unsuccessful !  Imagine  a 
determinedly  monotheistic  Moslem,  invited  to  worship  in 
a  church  full  of  images  and  lighted  caudles,  where  gor- 


Islam  in  Russia  263 

geously  dressed  priests  invoke  the  name  and  propitiation 
of  so  many  saints  along  with  the  name  of  God  !  I,  who 
know  the  meaning  of  these  ceremonies  and  paraphernalia, 
am  every  time  under  the  impression  of  the  paganism 
which  we  see  in  the  Greek  Orthodox  manner  of  worship. 
What  then  must  a  Mohammedan  feel  when  he  is  asked 
to  accept  all  those  images  and  offer  his  worship  in  the 
way  which  the  orthodox  missionary  tells  him  is  the 
Christian  way  !  It  is  very  difficult  to  understand  the 
psychology  of  a  Moslem  who  accepts  the  Eoman  or  or- 
thodox Catholic  faith  !  Let  us  hope  that  they  may  not 
always  be  moved  by  material  advantages,  but  that  some 
of  them  may  truly  have  had  a  vision  of  Jesus,  and  not 
having  any  other  way  of  confessing  Him  presented  to 
them,  that  they  have  accepted  the  orthodox  faith  in  all 
sincerity. 

One  more  cause  which  hinders  powerful  spiritual  mis- 
sionary work  is  the  lack  of  faith  of  the  orthodox  mis- 
sionaries in  the  weapons  they  wield  in  this  warfare.  Not 
only  civil  authorities  do  not  care  for  missions  among 
Moslems  for  fear  of  arousing  their  discontent  and  pro- 
voking their  fanaticism,  even  the  Church  itself  seems  to 
stand  in  awe,  doubt,  and  dismay  before  the  compact 
mass  of  twenty  million  Mohammedans,  who  ever  more 
and  more  unitedly  rally  around  their  one  religious  leader, 
their  one  creed,  and  begin  to  realize  and  bring  into  being 
the  religious  and  political  ideal  called  pan-Islamism. 
The  Church  in  Russia  stands  like  David  before  Goliath  ; 
but  this  David  has  not  the  same  faith  in  the  all-powerful 
God  who  could  make  the  stones  in  his  sling  an  efficient 
weapon  against  Goliath's  mighty  sword  !  It  is  neither 
by  such  a  Church,  nor  by  such  men,  who  look  with  ter- 
ror at  the  foe  before  them,  that  rock -like,  unflinching 
Islam  will  be  conquered  and  won.  We  feel  it  when  read- 
ing the  missionary  reports,  we  have  heard  it  said  by 


264  Islam  and  Missions 

faithful  members  of  the  Orthodox  Church  :  "  We  do  not 
do  any  real  evangelistic  missionary  work  among  Mos- 
lems and  we  do  not  see  that  we  ever  will  or  can  do  such 
work." 

We  now  come  to  the  second  part  of  our  survey  of  mis- 
sion work  in  Eussia.  Having  briefly  reviewed  the  Greek 
Orthodox  Church  missions,  let  us  examine  what  is  being 
done  by  Protestant  believers  to  preach  Christ  to  the  Mos- 
lems in  Eussia. 

We  may  consider  the  influence  of  evangelical  believers 
on  Islam  under  three  heads  :  (1)  General  influence  of 
Protestant  communities  ;  (2)  Direct  missionary  work 
done  by  societies  and  individuals  ;  (3)  The  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society's  work.  We  must  say  with  pain 
and  regret  that  the  Lutheran  and  the  Eeformed  Churches 
in  Eussia  are  still  absolutely  deaf  to  the  appeal  for  evan- 
gelization which  ought  to  be  felt  by  every  evangelical 
Christian,  living  in  a  land  where  as  yet  5,000,000 
heathen  and  20,000,000  Moslems  are  without  Christ.  No 
missionary  work  has  been  done  by  these  church  organiza- 
tions as  such.  In  what  way  the  colonies  of  Lutheran 
Christians,  mostly  Germans,  that  we  find  in  the  Volga 
district  (in  Samara  and  Saratoff),  in  the  Caucasus,  in  the 
Northern  Crimea,  in  Bessarabia,  and  even  in  North 
Turkestan  and  West  Central  Siberia  have  influenced 
Moslems  around  them  I  have  not  been  able  to  trace.  I 
refer  to  the  direct  evangelizing  influence  that  can  make 
Moslems  eager  to  accept  the  Christian  faith.  The  thrifti- 
ness  of  these  Germans,  their  economy,  their  sober  life 
certainly  appeal  less  to  Mohammedans,  who  in  a  certain 
measure  possess  these  same  qualities,  than  to  uncultured 
Eussian  peasants. 

Some  Protestant  communities  do  awake  to  the  responsi- 
bility laid  upon  them  by  the  light  they  have  received. 
For  instance  the  Mennonites  in  Turkestan,  who  live  in  a 


Islam  in  Russia  265 

district  peopled  by  the  Kirghis,  are  said  to  have  made  a 
beginning  of  missionary  work  at  Aouli  Ata  and  near 
Khiva.  The  Seventh-Day  Adventists  at  Aouli  Ata  and 
near  Askabad  (among  Kirghis  and  Tekiuzes)  are  also 
preparing  for  work  amongst  Moslems.  There  are  also 
numerous  communities  of  Baptists,  converts  from  the 
Greek  Orthodox  Church,  formerly  called  Stundists,  and 
now  organized  under  the  name  of  Eussian  Evangelical 
Christians.  These  are  now  found,  thank  God,  all  over 
Eussia  and  Siberia,  an  example  to  other  churches  by  their 
zeal  to  win  souls,  by  their  truly  Christian  way  of  living. 
But  as  yet  I  could  not  hear  of  any  organized  gospel  work 
by  them  among  Moslems.  Work  is  certainly  being  done 
by  local  Baptist  churches ;  as  for  instance,  in  Baku, 
Batum  and  Tiflis  in  the  Caucasus  ;  but  as  yet  it  seems  to 
be  done  more  as  an  individual  work,  not  yet  as  a  neces- 
sary part  of  a  Christian  community's  very  life.  The 
local  Baptist  churches  at  Aouli  Ata,  Taschkent,  and 
Askabad  in  Turkestan  are  now  awakening  to  this  re- 
sponsibility and  considering  how  to  reach  the  Moslems 
around  them.  I  found  Armenian  believers  at  Baku  and 
Askabad  full  of  zeal  and  love  for  the  Moslems  ;  reaching 
some  of  them  through  the  Gospel  and  through  a  spirit  of 
brotherly  love. 

Coming  now  to  work  done  among  Moslems  by  individ- , 
uals  and  societies,  we  must  mention  the  only  missionary 
society  for  evangelizing  Islam  in  Eussia.  This  is  the 
Swedish  Missionary  Society,  with  its  seat  in  Tiflis. 
Work  was  started  in  the  Caucasus,  in  1884,  in  a  district 
peopled  by  3,500,000  Mohammedans,  speaking  for  the 
greater  part  the  Azerbaijan  dialect  of  Turkish.  Two 
missionaries  with  their  wives  and  two  lady  missionaries 
were  at  work  ;  they  had  also  five  native  helpers.  Evan- 
gelical work  has  begun  at  Tiflis  and  at  Bokhara  and 
Samarkand  ;  the  most  distant  station  being  at  Kashgar  in 


266  Islam  and  Missions 

Chinese  Turkestan.  As  the  Eussian  government  did  not 
allow  the  Swedish  missionaries  to  do  educational  or  medi- 
cal missionary  work,  which  is  being  done  at  Kashgar, 
in  the  Caucasus  the  missionaries  were  restricted  to  dis- 
tribution of  the  Scriptures  in  Azerbaijan  and  Osmanli 
Turkish  and  in  Persian.  Conversation  with  individuals 
and  later  regular  evangelistic  meetings  have  been 
going  on  with  the  result  that  as  the  missionary,  Mr. 
Larson,  reports  from  Tin*  is  "  fourteen  Moslems  have  been 
baptized,  of  whom  several  have  died  happily  in  Christ." 
He  writes  in  1910  :  "  We  see  signs  of  awakening  and  ob- 
serve the  good  influence  of  our  work  among  the  Moslems 
all  around  us.  Mrs.  Larson  gives  much  of  her  time  to 
visiting  Moslem  women  who  meet  at  her  house  for  Bible 
reading.  Not  one  of  the  converts  of  the  Swedish  Mission 
has  fallen  back  into  Islam  as  a  result  of  the  granting  of 
religious  liberty  in  1905."  The  Eussian  government's 
attitude  towards  this  mission  has  been  more  friendly 
lately  than  in  former  years,  and  evangelistic  work  is  per- 
mitted in  Tiflis. 

Unhappily  the  work  begun  by  the  Swedish  Mission  at 
Bokhara  and  Samarkand  had  to  be  stopped  as  soon  as  it 
began  to  bear  fruit !  After  the  conversion  at  Bokhara  of 
some  Moslems  and  Jews,  trouble  came  and  the  native 
preachers  were  obliged  to  leave ;  work  was  forbidden  ! 
Bokhara  offered  a  magnificent  opportunity  for  reaching 
the  Moslems  from  all  Central  Asian  tribes,  people  from 
India  and  Afghanistan  coming  frequently  to  this  centre  of 
Islam  in  Central  Asia.  But  Mr.  Larson  hopes  to  start 
work  soon  in  the  Khanates  of  Bokhara  and  Khiva  by 
some  of  their  Syrian  preachers,  who,  as  a  rule,  are  con- 
sidered to  work  amongst  Moslems  with  more  success  than 
Armenians  do. 

The  Swedish  Mission  also  opened  a  station  near  Oren- 
burg amongst  the  Bashkirs.  From  1890  to  1894  Mr. 


Islam  in  Russia  267 

Sarwe  worked  there  as  a  missionary.  He  writes  of  hard 
times  there  and  of  no  positive  results,  though  at  the  end 
of  four  years'  labour,  through  sympathy  and  material  help 
rendered  during  the  great  famine,  the  confidence  of  many 
Bashkirs  had  been  won.  No  work  is  being  done  there 
now.  But  the  faithful  and  loving  missionaries  look  for- 
ward with  yearning  for  their  Moslem  brethren  and  trust 
God  to  open  to  them  again  the  closed  towns  of  Central 
Asia.  This  Swedish  Mission  is,  as  we  have  already  said, 
the  only  Protestant  mission  to  Moslems  in  the  whole  of 
Russia,  Siberia  and  Central  Asia  ! 

Of  independent,  individual  workers  among  Moslems  I 
must  mention  Mr.  Easton,  who  since  1875  has  done  work 
among  Mohammedaus  in  Trans-Caucasia,  the  Caucasus, 
and  for  some  time  in  the  Crimea.  He  draws  special  at- 
tention to  the  Turkomans  and  Kirghis  living  in  Trans- 
Caucasia.  Evangelistic  work  ought  to  be  done  there 
speedily,  before  these  tribes  become  fully  and  fanatically 
indoctrinated  in  the  Moslem  faith. 

In  Tiflis,  I  have  heard,  a  lady  is  working  independently, 
preaching  and  distributing  Gospels  and  tracts  among 
Moslems.  At  Baku  I  met  Mr.  Toumanyan,  an  Armenian 
brother,  who  speaks  well  several  of  the  Turkish  dialects 
and  whose  heart  is  filled  with  great  love  for  the  Moham- 
medans. He  has  opened  a  lecture  room  where  daily 
talks  are  held  with  Moslems,  and  where  every  Friday 
they  have  a  meeting  which  is  well  attended.  One 
Mohammedan  has  been  baptized.  An  English  mission- 
ary, Mr.  Hill  and  his  wife,  are  also  doing  work  there.  I 
may  mention  also  Mr.  Patwakan  Tarajani  of  the  Russian 
Evangelical  Community  at  Baku.  At  Aouli  Ata  in 
Northern  Turkestan  two  friends,  one  of  them  a  Mr. 
Thiemann,  are  preparing  for  mission  work  amongst  the 
Kirghises.  Last  and  least,  I  was  sent  out  by  the  Lord  to 
work  among  the  Moslems  as  an  independent  itinerating 


268  Islam  and  Missions 

Bible- woman.  I  could  reach  many  of  the  Tatars  in  the 
Volga  and  Kama  districts  and  beyond  as  far  as  Tobolsk, 
and  now  God  has  led  me  to  work  in  Central  Asia,  sowing 
the  Word  of  life,  and  believing  that  this  seed  can  spring 
up  in  the  heart  of  one  or  many  and  bring  fruit  unto  God. 

We  see  then  by  the  rapid  survey  of  missionary  work 
for  Moslems  done  by  Protestant  churches,  communities, 
and  individuals,  that  while  the  only  organized  society  is 
the  Swedish  Missionary  Society,  the  Lord  has  begun  to 
work  in  the  hearts  of  others  of  His  servants  and  that  some 
communities  and  some  individuals  have  heard  and  ac- 
cepted the  call  to  go  work  in  this  stony  and  neglected 
vineyard — the  Moslem  world.  We  notice,  also,  that  by 
the  providence  of  God,  Protestant  endeavour  has  been 
aroused  just  in  that  part  of  the  Eussian  Empire  where 
less  is  being  done  for  the  evangelization  of  Moslems  by 
the  Orthodox  State  Church,  as  in  the  South  Caucasus, 
and  nothing  at  all,  as  in  Eussian  Central  Asia.  May  the 
Lord  put  the  call  to  evangelization  of  these  neglected 
Moslem  brethren  in  Central  Asia  as  a  burden  on  our 
souls !  If  we  accept  it,  He  will  certainly  not  leave  us 
without  strength  to  lift  it  and  transform  it  into  a  joyful 
privilege. 

As  a  light  and  life-bearer  to  Christians,  Jews,  Moslems 
and  heathen  alike,  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society 
is  at  work  over  the  whole  length  and  breadth  of  the 
Eussian  Empire.  It  has  two  principal  agencies,  in 
Eussia  proper  and  Central  Asia,  and  also  in  Siberia. 
"The  colporteurs  of  the  Eussian  agency  meet  with 
Moslems  in  the  Volga  districts  round  about  Kazan  ;  from 
Samara  eastwards  to  Orenburg  ;  in  the  steppes  north  of 
the  Aral  and  Caspian  Seas;  in  the  Caucasus,  and  in 
Trans- Caucasia  and  Central  Asia.  There  are  no  special 
colporteurs  appointed  to  Moslem  work,  but  the  ordinary 
colporteurs  whose  work  it  is  to  offer  the  Scriptures  to  all, 


Islam  in  Russia  269 

offer  them  alike  to  Moslems  wherever  they  meet  with 
them."  The  Eussian  agency  of  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society  has  Scriptures  in  ten  Moslem  languages, 
and  the  number  of  Scriptures  sold  to  Moslems  has  in- 
creased in  the  last  four  or  five  years. 

We  have  now  finished  our  survey  of  the  missionary 
work  done  among  the  Moslems  of  Russia,  Siberia  and 
Central  Asia.  It  seems  to  me  that  our  Lord,  looking 
down  over  this  vast  territory  and  seeing  the  absolutely 
inadequate  work — I  do  not  say  fruit  of  this  work,  but 
the  inadequacy  of  the  effort — is  grieved  and  His  heart, 
which  yearns  for  all  those  Moslems,  that  they  also  may 
come  to  the  knowledge  of  truth,  suffers  from  our  hard- 
ness of  heart !  Twenty  million  souls  in  the  darkness  of 
Islam  and  so  few  of  us  care  for  them  !  Let  us  ask  our- 
selves— those  of  us  who  do  feel  this  "  reproach  of  Islam  " 
and  who  accept  it  as  a  " challenge  to  faith"— what  can 
be  done  to  evangelize  the  Moslems  in  Russia  ? 

First  of  all  prayer  is  needed.  More  fervent,  definite 
prayer  that  the  government  should  open  the  land  to  non- 
Russian  missionary  enterprise  now  standing  at  the  door, 
ready  to  enter  and  to  work  ;  let  us  pray  for  the  small 
beginning  of  work  done  by  Russian  believers ;  also  for 
men  and  women  with  faith  and  love  and  the  will  to 
make  the  most  of  opportunities  put  before  us  by  God. 
Then,  knowledege  of  the  state  of  Islam  in  the  world  and 
in  the  Russian  Empire  should  be  spread  among  the 
churches  in  Russia.  How  can  they  pray,  if  they  are 
not  told  what  to  pray  for  ;  how  can  they  go  out,  if  they 
are  not  called  f  A  paper  stating  all  that  is  necessary  to 
know  about  Islam,  about  the  work  done  in  other  coun- 
tries and  at  home,  containing  an  appeal  to  help  with 
prayer,  money,  lives,  ought  to  be  issued  and  circulated 
among  all  the  Protestant  churches  of  Russia.  May  it 
not  be  the  purpose  of  God  through  such  an  appeal  to 


270  Islam  and  Missions 

draw  out  of  every  evangelical  church  a  people  destined 
to  serve  Him  amongst  the  Moslems  I 

In  what  way  can  the  Protestant  Church  and  missionary 
societies  outside  of  Eussia  help  us?  Again  we  say,  first 
of  all  with  prayer.  You,  missionaries  to  Moslems,  know 
how  to  pray,  else  you  would  not  have  achieved  what,  with 
God's  blessing,  you  have  achieved.  Sustain  us  over  here 
in  Kussia !  Then  you  can  help  us  by  printing  for  us. 
The  Bible  Society  supplies  us  with  the  Scriptures  ;  several 
mission  presses  send  out  millions  of  copies  of  tracts  ;  but 
there  are  still  several  Mohammedan  tribes  in  Eussia  and 
Central  Asia  to  whom  we  cannot  yet  offer  tracts,  simple, 
evangelical  literature,  in  their  mother  tongue.  And  you 
know  well  the  importance  of  this  literature,  preparing  or 
following  up  the  distribution  of  Scriptures.  Whilst  we 
are  yet  a  few,  unorganized  workers,  help  us  at  this  point 
and  strengthen  our  hands !  Then,  whilst  Eussia  is  yet 
closed  to  foreign  missionaries,  begin  or  develop  mission 
work  on  our  frontiers.  Especially  Persia  is  of  great 
strategic  importance.  Thousands  of  Persians  are  continu- 
ally travelling  through  the  Caucasus,  Trans- Caucasia, 
and  Central  Asia.  The  influence  for  Christ,  received  in 
Persia,  will  certainly  be  gradually  felt  on  this  side  of 
the  frontier.  Meshed,  for  instance,  which  so  many  Per- 
sians pass  when  coming  over  to  Turkestan,  and  the 
towns  in  the  Persian  Azerbaijan  district  could  be  splendid 
centres  for  mission  work,  which  would  be  spread  over  to 
Eussia  by  the  people  themselves  ;  and  no  police  or  gov- 
ernment decree  could  stop  this  influence. 

And  when,  at  last,  the  door  shall  be  open  to  foreign 
mission  work,  then  come  over  and  teach  us,  and  breathe 
into  us  the  spirit  of  daring,  of  obedience  to  God  at  any 
cost,  the  wonderful  conquering  faith  which  we  see  in 
most  of  your  missionary  enterprises  ! 

As  soon  as  God  shall  have  raised  up  servants  to  work 


Islam  in  Russia  271 

for  Moslems  we  must  think  of  educational  work ;  our 
brethren  in  the  Orthodox  Church  Mission  have  shown  us 
the  way  in  this :  it  is  the  one  way  by  which  they  have 
reached  most  easily  the  rising  Moslem  generation. 
Educational  work  will  possibly  spring  up  first  in  the 
Protestant  communities,  such  as  Baptists,  Mennonites, 
Adventists,  who  live  in  absolutely  Mohammedan  neigh- 
bourhoods ;  and  in  the  steppes  it  will  have  to  take  the 
character  of  itinerating  schools,  whose  wandering  teachers 
will  have  a  wonderful  opportunity  not  only  to  teach 
Christian  European  science,  but  to  preach  Jesus  to  those 
whose  life  they  share.  Medical  mission  work  could 
now  be  done,  as  I  had  occasion  to  see  in  Turkestan,  if 
only  the  medical  missionaries  were  at  hand.  Hospitals 
for  natives  would  afford  good  opportunity  for  quietly 
influencing  their  patients.  And  it  would  be  here  as 
everywhere  the  unsurpassed  means  of  reaching  Moslem 
women,  who  in  Central  Asia  in  particular,  even  if  not  so 
much  in  other  Eussian  Moslem  lands,  are  sitting  "be- 
hind the  veil,"  waiting  for  us  to  bring  light  into  their 
darkness. 

I  have  not  spoken  at  all  of  Islam  itself,  nor  of  the  dif- 
ficulties which  the  missionary  will  meet  with  in  this 
work ;  they  are  the  same  everywhere,  and  you  know 
them  better  than  we  do.  I  speak  as  to  men  and  women 
who  know  what  a  foe  we  have  before  us  and  that  it  is 
not  with  flesh  and  blood  that  we  have  to  fight,  but  with 
powers  and  principalities,  with  the  ' * Prince  of  the  power 
of  the  air,"  who  has  turned  the  hearts  of  more  than  two 
hundred  million  men  to  accept  Mohammed,  the  false 
prophet,  and  to  defy  the  Son  of  God. 

But  God,  who  has  placed  in  our  hearts  the  light  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  glory  and  love  of  God  in  the  face  of 
Jesus  Christ,  has  given  us  to  hear  the  call  for  personal 
service  on  just  this  battle-field.  We  have  obeyed  it,  and 


272  Islam  and  Missions 

by  this  have  received  power  to  believe  in  the  victory  of 
Jesus  Christ  over  even  Moslem  hearts. 

It  is  worth  while  to  work  for  those,  who  having  such  a 
capacity  for  single-hearted,  stout,  and  fiery  adherence  to 
what  they  think  right,  will  make  as  whole-hearted  fol- 
lowers of  Jesus  Christ,  once  they  are  won  for  Him. 
When  with  hearts  longing  for  the  appearance  of  the  Sun 
of  Eighteousness,  we  ask  the  question  :  "  Watchman, 
what  of  the  morning?  Watchman,  what  of  the  morn- 
ing !"  our  faith,  looking  over  Moslem  Eussia  covered 
as  yet  by  the  darkness  of  night,  answers:  "It  is  yet 
night,  yes,  but  the  morning  cometh ! " 


The  Late  Sir  Sayyad  Ahmad  Khan,  founder  of  the  Mohammedan  College 

at  Aligarh 


XIX 

EEFOEM  MOVEMENTS  IN  INDIA 
REV.  CANON  WEITBRECHT,  PH.  D.,  D.  D.,  SIMLA 

THE  attempt  seriously  to  adjust  the  teaching  and 
practice  of  Islam  to  modern  conditions  of  life 
and  thought  was  first  made  in  India  by  Sir 
Sayyad  Ahmad  Khan  of  Aligarh  in  the  United  Provinces 
(1817-1898).  He  supported  his  efforts  after  progress  and 
reform  by  a  rationalistic  exegesis  of  the  Koran,  recogniz- 
ing in  it  a  human  as  well  as  a  divine  element,  and  teach- 
ing that  a  knowledge  of  natural  law  had  superseded  be- 
lief in  miracle.  His  energies  were  chiefly  directed  to  the 
promotion  of  Anglo-vernacular  education  among  his  co- 
religionists, and  the  chief  monument  of  his  life-work  is 
the  Anglo-Mohammedan  College  at  Aligarh.  In  a  speech 
delivered  shortly  after  the  mutiny  he  said :  ^Hitherto 
the  Musulmans  have  been  rulers  in  this  land,  but  now  it 
is  the  divine  will  that  they  should  pass  their  lives  as 
subjects  of  a  conquering  power.  As  hitherto  they  have 
inscribed  their  name  on  the  page  of  history  with  the 
blaze  of  victory  and  dominion,  so  now  they  are  called 
upon  to  make  their  name  illustrious  as  good  subjects  of  a 
just  ruleJJ 

Another  notable  result  of  Sir  Sayyad7  s  labours  was  the 
establishment  of  the  Mohammedan  Educational  Confer- 
ence which  meets  annually  for  the  promotion  of  educa- 
tion, both  higher  and  lower. 

The  Nadwat  ul  Ulema  at  Lucknow,  and  in  a  smaller 
way,  the  Aujuman  i  Naumaniye  at  Lahore  are  societies 
which  endeavour  to  promote  Moslem  education  on  a 

273 


274  Islam  and  Missions 

modern  basis,  but  with  more  regard  to  Moslem  ortho- 
doxy than  Say y ad  Ahmad' s  school.  The  Ahmediya  is  the 
sect  founded  by  the  late  Mirza  Ghulam  Ahmed  of  Kadian 
in  the  Punjab.  Its  teachings  lay  stress  on  natural  law, 
and  profess  to  promote  peace  among  hostile  communities. 
Their  main  tenet  is  that  the  founder  is  both  the  true 
Mahdi  and  also  Christ  returned  to  earth. 

There  is  not  much  that  is  new  to  report  of  the  activi- 
ties of  these  bodies  during  the  last  five  years.  The 
Aligarh  College  has  held  on  its  way,  though  somewhat 
hampered  by  dissensions  on  the  College  Council  and  by 
changes  of  principle,  and  the  number  of  students  in  1909, 
as  compared  with  five  years  previous,  was  476  to  340 ;  and 
in  the  high  school  attached  to  the  college  there  were  475 
against  364.  The  main  court  presents  quite  a  collegiate 
appearance,  except  that  a  structure  of  the  kind  which 
we  usually  relegate  to  the  back,  occupies  a  prominent 
place  in  the  quadrangle.  In  one  corner  is  the  handsome 
College  Mosque,  which  all  the  students  are  supposed  reg- 
ularly to  attend,  and  close  to  it  is  the  tomb  of  the  founder. 
The  second  court  is  in  a  more  tentative  style,  but  all 
around  the  central  college  pile,  buildings  for  hostels  and 
other  annexes  are  arising,  and  in  a  few  years  the  whole 
complex  should  be  ready  to  accommodate  the  Moslem 
University  which  progressive  Mohammedans  throughout 
India  earnestly  desire.  The  Agha  Khan  has  recently 
given  a  lakh  of  rupees  towards  a  fund  of  twenty  lakhs 
which  he  believes  will  be  sufficient  in  order  to  make  a 
beginning  with  the  foundation  of  "a  model  university 
bearing  the  name  of  King  George  V."  It  may  well  be 
that  the  next  of  these  conferences  will  be  able  to  chron- 
icle the  establishment  of  the  Indian  University  of  Ali- 
garh. How  far  it  will  be  a  powerful  instrument  of  reform 
and  progress  it  is  difficult  to  forecast.  The  fact  that  the 
present  professor  of  Arabic  in  the  Aligarh  College  is  a 


Reform  Movements  in  India  275 

learned  German  reminds  us  that  linguistic  research  ac- 
cording to  modern  methods  has  not  yet  made  much  prog- 
ress among  Moslem  scholars  in  India.  There  is  an  Old 
Boys'  Association  with  750  members  which  contributed 
Es.  11,000  to  the  college  funds  in  1910.  Beyond  the  ad- 
vocacy of  the  university  scheme,  and  its  efforts  for  the 
establishment  of  more  schools,  the  chief  development 
initiated  by  the  Educational  Conference  is  the  All-India 
League  for  the  promotion  of  the  Urdu  language.  This 
language,  as  is  well  known,  is  the  product  of  Moslem 
rule  in  India.  Its  name  signifies  "camp,"  and  it  re- 
ceived this  designation  from  the  chief  imperial  camp  of  the 
Mogul  dynasty  at  Delhi,  where  the  Persian  tongue  of  the 
foreigners  was  grafted  on  the  Hindi  of  those  parts,  and  so 
formed  a  new  language  which  has  become  the  lingua  franca 
of  India,  and  especially  the  vehicle  of  intercourse  and  lit- 
erature among  Mohammedans  throughout  the  country. 
Measures  and  proposals  for  ousting  Urdu  from  the  posi- 
tion of  the  language  of  administration  and  education  have 
roused  strong  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  Moslem  commu- 
nity, and  their  reply  has  been  the  formation  of  this  society. 
Like  other  indigenous  things  it  has  taken  on  an  English 
name  and  calls  itself  the  "All -India  Urdu  Conference." 
Its  object  is  to  stimulate  the  production  of  Urdu  litera- 
ture suited  to  modern  conditions,  and  to  promote  the  use 
of  Urdu  officially  and  privately. 

The  Nadwat  ul  Ulema  or  college  of  divines  has  its  head- 
quarters in  Lucknow,  and  it  has  established  branches  in 
Madras  and  elsewhere.  It  issues  a  monthly  magazine  En 
Nadwa  which  has  for  its  object  the  establishment  of  har- 
mony between  faith  and  reason  and  the  investigation  of 
ancient  and  modern  sciences.  The  position  of  the  move- 
ment with  reference  to  Christianity  may  be  illustrated 
from  an  article  in  the  October  number  (1910)  on  the 
Christian  and  the  Moslem  state.  The  writer  remarks 


276  Islam  and  Missions 

that  though  there  are  certain  features  of  the  civilization 
of  Christian  lauds  which  make  it  seem  superior  to  that  of 
Moslem,  countries,  and  so  attract  the  progressive  Moslem 
towards  the  Christian  faith,  yet  these  things  in  reality 
have  no  connection  with  the  Christian  religion.  If  this 
were  really  acted  upon  the  most  civilized  nations  of  the 
world  would  have  to  bid  farewell  to  their  culture  and  re- 
tire for  the  practice  of  asceticism  to  the  summit  of  some 
high  hill  in  accordance  with  the  teachings  of  St.  Paul ! 
Among  the  book  advertisements  the  most  prominent  is 
one  of  a  work  entitled  "  Astronomy  and  Islam,"  the  ob- 
ject of  which  is  stated  to  be  the  proof  that  the  Moslem 
astronomers  of  the  middle  ages,  whom  orthodox  divines 
alone  allow  as  true  to  the  faith  and  the  Koran,  were  in 
reality  opposed  to  the  Copernican  system  and  very  near 
the  principles  of  modern  astronomy.  Evidently  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Nadwat  movement  have  much  leeway 
to  make  up  before  they  can  grapple,  even  plausibly,  with 
the  task  of  reconciling  modern  thought  with  the  faith  of 
the  Koran. 

Another  effort,  similar  to  that  of  the  Nadwat,  has  been 
made  in  the  establishment  of  the  Cawnpore  School  of 
Theology.  The  impulse  towards  this  seems  to  have  come 
largely  from  the  sense  that  Islam  in  its  struggle  with 
Hinduism  might  become  the  bitten  instead  of  the  biter. 
Hitherto  the  conversion  of  Hindus  to  Islam  was  no  un- 
common thing,  but  the  reverse  had  never  been  heard  of. 
Of  late  years,  however,  the  Arya  Samaj  has  introduced 
the  principle  of  Shuddhi,  that  is  of  a  ceremonial  purifica- 
tion by  which  the  non-Hindu  can  be  introduced  into 
Hinduism,  at  least  in  its  Dayanandi  form,  and  they  pro- 
fess to  have  converted  a  number  of  Mohammedans, 
among  them  some  mulvis,  in  this  way.  The  Cawnpore 
School  has  taken  up  the  controversy,  and  is  issuing  a 
series  of  tracts  against  the  Arya  Samaj.  Number  three 


Reform  Movements  in  India  277 

of  these  is  devoted  to  a  comparison  of  "  Vedic  theology 
and  Moslem  monotheism."  The  author  takes  the  pro- 
fessed monotheism  of  the  Arya  sect,  together  with  its  as- 
sertion of  the  eternity  of  soul  and  matter  and  criticizes 
their  teachings  according  to  the  Moslem  formula  that  God 
must  be  immaterial,  without  parts,  omniscient,  omnipo- 
tent, eternal,  and  perfect.  He  thinks  that  the  doctrine 
of  "  Protestant  Trinitarians "  is  that  the  Son  and  the 
Holy  Spirit  are  not  to  be  worshipped,  and  have  no  part 
in  the  work  of  creation  and  providence.  This  agrees 
with  the  statement  of  a  local  observer  that  the  Christian 
controversy  is  taught  in  the  Cawnpore  Theological  School 
by  a  " revert"  from  Christianity  with  a  very  defective 
equipment.  A  printing  press  is  said  to  be  attached  to 
the  school,  but  this  tract  is  printed  elsewhere.  It  con- 
cludes with  a  fervent  personal  appeal  to  the  reader  to 
drink  of  the  water  of  life  which  flows  from  the  exhaust- 
less  fountains  of  Islam.  This  seems  to  be  distinct  de- 
parture from  the  accustomed  style  of  Mohammedan  con- 
troversial tracts.  One  can  hardly  realize  the  late  Mulvi 
Wali  ullah  of  Lahore  addressing  his  non-Moslem  readers 
as  "  beloved  brethren."  Sanscrit  is  said  to  be  taught  in 
this  school  by  a  Pandit  of  the  Sanatan  Dharm  (old  Hin- 
duism). 

The  Ahmediye  sect  has  declined  since  the  death  of  its 
founder  Mirza  Ghulam  Ahmed  on  May  26,  1908.  The 
fact  that  his  death  took  place  through  cholera,  whereas 
he  had  promised  his  followers  immunity  from  pestilence 
without  plague  inoculation,  was  no  doubt  a  shock  to  the 
faith  of  many,  though  it  was  concealed  as  much  as  pos- 
sible. The  Review  of  Religions,  conducted  by  his  dis- 
ciple Nur  ud  Din,  gives  a  rather  elaborate  explanation  of 
the  fact  that  he  should  have  died  at  all.  The  same  pe- 
riodical gave  currency  to  the  report  that  three  Moslem 
missionaries  had  proceeded  to  Japan,  and  converted 


278  Islam  and  Missions 

12,000  Japanese.  This  proved  to  be  of  the  same  value  as 
many  of  its  other  statements.  Whatever  the  merits  of 
the  Mirza,  we  may  be  glad  that  his  last  public  appeal 
was  addressed  to  his  countrymen  in  the  interests  of  peace 
between  Hindu  and  Musulman.  The  general  attitude  of 
his  followers,  too,  seems  less  truculent  than  formerly. 
But  there  are  no  special  signs  of  a  development  of  thought, 
except  the  disowning  of  "Jihad,"  and  the  doctrine  that 
polygamy  was  made  permissive,  only  as  the  lesser  of  two 
evils.  The  permission  was  freely  availed  of  by  the  Ka- 
dian  Mahdi. 

The  contributions  to  religious  thought  by  Mohammedan 
reformers  are  scarcely  more  numerous  in  other  directions. 
A  Reform  Publishing  Society  in  Calcutta  has  published 
at  least  two  tracts,  but  when  I  sent  recently  to  the  ad- 
dress given  on  the  cover  for  the  remainder,  the  letter 
came  back  to  me  through  the  dead  letter  office.  The 
first  of  these  tracts  reproduces  a  lecture,  given  before  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  1908,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Theological 
Circle,  presided  over  by  the  Eev.  H.  Anderson,  secretary 
of  the  Baptist  Mission.  It  sets  forth  the  ethical  side  of 
Islam  as  a  religion  of  good  works ;  allowing  that  the  posi- 
tion assigned  to  woman  is  a  crucial  test  of  a  religion,  it 
maintains  that  polygamy,  divorce,  concubinage  and 
purda  are  not  ordained  in  Islam  ;  religions  should  deal 
with  one  another  in  a  cooperative,  not  a  competitive 
spirit,  and  distinguish  their  permanent  from  their  tem- 
porary elements.  This  is  supported  by  a  saying  of  the 
prophet  which,  if  genuine,  gives  very  ample  sea  room  to 
the  Moslem  navigating  the  troubled  waters  of  modern  life : 
"  Ye  are  in  an  age  in  which,  if  ye  abandon  one-tenth  of 
what  is  now  ordered,  ye  will  be  ruined.  After  this  a 
time  will  come,  when  he  who  will  observe  one-tenth  of 
what  is  now  ordered  will  be  saved."  The  other  tract  is 
an  eirenicon,  containing  parallel  passages  from  the 


Reform  Movements  in  India  279 

Bible  and  the  Koran  under  various  heads  to  show  the 
agreement  of  both.  The  spirit  of  these  publications  is 
excellent,  and  so  is  that  of  two  pamphlets  by  a  Punjabi 
barrister  who  was  scholar  and  prizeman  of  Christ's  Col- 
lege, Cambridge.  In  treating  of  Mohammedan  regenera- 
tion he  lays  special  stress  on  the  degradation  of  the  vil- 
lage Mullas,  and  the  consequent  abuses  in  marriage  rites, 
and  urges  that  none  should  be  allowed  to  marry  who  are 
not  duly  certified  by  a  proper  religious  authority.  He 
holds  up  the  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century  as  an 
example  to  Moslems,  and  stoutly  asserts  that  the  English 
are  not  an  irreligious  nation,  and  praises  the  virtues 
which  they  display  of  honesty,  generosity,  and  public 
spirit.  He  laughs  at  Gwillianism  (the  Mohammedan 
Mission  in  Liverpool),  but  he  defends  ritual  and  dogma 
(which  many  of  the  young  reformers  despise)  as  the  nec- 
essary results  of  development.  He  thinks  it  a  pity  that 
Mohammedans  are  not  availing  themselves  of  the  oppor- 
tunity which  the  missionaries  are  diligently  using,  of  con- 
verting the  untouchable  classes.  "  They  are  going  to  be 
your  superiors,  though  their  fathers  were  your  menials. " 
All  this,  and  much  more,  was  said  before  the  Anjuman  i 
Himayat  i  Islam  of  Lahore,  which  is  the  chief  agency  for 
promoting  the  education  of  Moslems  in  the  Punjab. 

A  man  of  independent  thought  who  exercises  some  in- 
fluence in  these  parts  is  Mulvi  Abdullah  Chakralavi. 
The  village  of  Chakral,  from  which  he  takes  his  name,  is 
in  the  Bannu  district  of  the  northwest  frontier  province, 
and  he  has  disciples  in  various  places  in  that  direction, 
but  apparently  he  has  settled  in  Lahore  for  the  sake  of 
printing  his  voluminous  works  on  the  Koran.  In  com- 
pany with  an  Indian  brother  I  visited  him  recently,  and 
found  him  living  in  very  bare  dilapidated  quarters  in  a 
street  that  rejoices  in  the  name  of  Siriojhri  kigali  (sheep7 s 
head  and  tripe  lane),  and  poorly  clad,  a  type  of  the 


280  Islam  and  Missions 

Oriental  scholar  who  lives  only  for  his  learning.  His 
speech  oscillated  between  Western  Punjabi  and  Urdu. 
Mulvi  Abdullah  is  an  extreme  Protestant  of  Islam. 
Going  beyond  the  Wahabi  sect,  he  will  have  nought  even 
of  the  best  attested  traditions  as  a  regulative  for  faith  or 
practice  :  the  Koran  only  is  the  religion  of  Moslems,  and 
it  is  to  be  explained  by  itself  alone.  On  this  basis  he 
modifies  the  five  "  pillars  of  the  faith, "  as  generally  held 
by  Moslems,  not  a  little.  The  Kelime  (la  ilaha  ilia  '  llahi 
ve  Mohammedu  rasul  allahi)  is  not  a  verse  of  the  holy  book, 
and  its  recital  is  therefore  not  a  duty  of  the  faith,  though 
it  is  true  as  a  statement  of  it.  Prayers  must  consist  of 
nothing  but  extracts  from  the  Book,  Ezan  is  a  human  in- 
vention, and  unnecessary  ;  so  are  teshehhud  and  tesbih ;  the 
pilgrimage  should  consist  simply  of  a  visit  to  the  Caaba  at 
Mecca,  without  circling  the  shrine  or  kissing  the  black 
stone  ;  the  customary  visit  to  Medina  is  as  wrong  as  one 
to  Kerbela.  The  one-fortieth  scale  of  almsgiving  should 
be  changed  for  a  graduated  one,  beginning  with  one- 
twentieth  and  rising  to  one-fifth.  Polygamy  and  Jihad 
are  against  the  Koran.  The  soul  is  not  taken  as  it  escapes 
from  the  body  by  the  angel  Israfil :  it  dies  with  the  body 
and  does  not  come  into  being  again  till  the  resurrection. 
Intercession  at  the  day  of  judgment  by  any  created  being 
is  flatly  blasphemous.  If  the  person  concerned  is  innocent 
he  will  be  pronounced  so  ;  if  he  is  guilty  would  any  sane 
judge  call  upon  another  person  to  plead  for  his  acquittal  I 
Apparently  this  radical  attitude  is  combined  with  a 
broader  one  than  is  usual  in  such  cases  towards  non- 
Moslems.  We  have  no  monopoly  in  God,  he  remarked. 
The  same  One  is  over  us  all.  In  all  this  there  was  no 
trace  of  modern  thought  or  scholarship,  but  there  was 
more  vigour  and  originality  than  I  have  noticed  in  other 
reforming  teachers. 
According  to  an  article  in  the  Spectator  of  June  4, 


Reform  Movements  in  India  281 

1910,  the  Persian  reforming  sect  of  Behais  is  making  con- 
verts in  North  India  and  elsewhere,  not  only  from  among 
Miisulinans,  but  from  Sikhs,  Brahmans  and  Buddhists.  I 
cannot  say  that  I  have  come  across  any  trace  of  such, 
but  this  may  be  because  they  are  still  votaries  of  the 
Shia  doctrine  of  Ketman  ud  din  which  allows  concealment 
of  one's  faith  to  escape  persecution. 

The  results  of  negative  Biblical  criticism  are  made 
most  use  of  by  the  Ahmediye  Review  of  Religions  and 
occasionally  by  others.  I  recently  received  a  request 
from  a  Musulman  official  of  high  standing  for  the  name 
of  a  work  on  u  Higher  Criticism,"  but  I  found  that  what 
he  wanted  was  information  on  the  elements  of  textual 
criticism  of  the  New  Testament. 

Of  practical  activities  connected  with  Moslem  re- 
form, other  than  those  already  mentioned,  there  is 
not  much  to  report.  The  establishment  of  orphanages 
is  reported  from  several  quarters,  but  it  does  not  seem 
as  if  much  were  being  actually  accomplished  in  that 
way.  Freedom  of  intercourse  with  Christians,  both 
Western  and  Eastern,  is  on  the  increase,  and  Western 
customs  are  finding  their  way  more  and  more  into  Mos- 
lem society.  From  Madras  I  hear  of  a  marriage  where 
the  bride  and  bridegroom  drove  off  after  the  ceremony 
in  an  open  carriage,  the  lady  unveiled.1  Marriages  be- 
tween English  women  and  Mohammedan  gentlemen  take 
place  occasionally  ;  but  always,  so  far  as  I  have  heard, 
in  England.  The  lady  coming  out  here  is  usually  much 
cut  off  from  English  society.  At  present  the  efforts 
after  regeneration,  next  to  those  in  education,  are 

1  A.  Bombay  correspondent  writes:  "In  a  local  Urdu  paper  a 
few  months  ago,  I  was  astonished  to  see  an  ishtihar  by  a  Moslem 
damsel  wanting  a  husband,  asking  for  the  photo  and  other  particu- 
lars of  the  suitor  to  be  sent  to  the  muahtahire,  care  of  the  editor." 
This,  he  assured  me,  was  authentic. 


282  Islam  and  Missions 

chiefly  taking  a  political  form.  The  All-India  Moslem 
League  has  for  its  objects  "  (a)  to  promote  among  Indian 
Musulmans  feelings  of  loyalty  towards  the  British  gov- 
ernment, and  to  remove  any  misconception  that  may 
arise  as  to  the  intentions  of  government  with  regard  to 
any  of  its  measures.  (6)  To  protect  the  political  and 
other  rights  and  interests  of  Indian  Musulmans,  and  to 
place  their  needs  and  aspirations  before  government  in 
temperate  language,  (c)  Without  prejudice  to  the 
objects  mentioned  above,  to  promote,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, concord  and  harmony  between  the  Musulmaus 
and  other  communities  of  Indians."  1  Its  work  is  sup- 
plemented by  various  local  bodies,  such  as  the  Madras 
Presidency  Moslem  League,  the  Anjuman  i  Ittihad  va 
Terdkki  e  Musulmanan  i  Punjab,  etc.  In  accordance  with 
the  above  cited  utterance  of  Sir  Sayyad  Ahmad  Khan 
the  tone  of  these  organizations  is  loyalist,  and  this  has 
been  emphasized  by  the  recent  manifestations  of  mili- 
tant Swadeshism,  which  have  been  mainly  among  Hin- 
dus.2 The  instinct  of  self-preservation  naturally  in- 
clines the  Moslem  one-fifth  of  India  to  lean  upon  the 
help  of  the  impartial  ruling  power,  as  the  policy  of 
self-government  develops.  The  habit  of  seeing  and 
acknowledging  the  benefits  which  those  rulers  have  sin- 
cerely, if  sometimes  a  trifle  clumsily,  tried  to  confer, 
tends  to  beget  cordial  feeling.  The  most  notable  polit- 
ical leaders  of  reform  are  His  Highness  the  Agha  Khan, 
head  of  the  Bohra  community  of  Bombay,  and  the 
Prince  of  Arcot  in  South  India.  The  leading  writer 
and  divine  is  Mavlana  Shibli  Naumani,  founder  of  the 
Nadwat  of  Lucknow. 

1  From  rules  and  regulations  of  the  All-India  Moslem  League. 

8  "  A  talk  on  Moslem  politics,"  by  Mr.  Ali  Mirza,  the  secretary  ol 
the  league,  gives  a  popular  exposition,  in  dialogue  form,  of  the  loy- 
alist position. 


Reform  Movements  in  India  283 

Ail  effort  on  the  lines  of  onr  Christian  tract  societies 
to  defend  Islam  on  modern  lines  is  being  made  by  the 
Mohammedan  Tract  and  Book  Depot  in  Lahore.  It 
publishes  works  by  English  writers  like  Davenport,  who 
exhibit  Islam  in  a  favourable  light.  Carlyle's  "Hero  as 
Prophet'7  is  issued,  with  omissions.  English  books  of 
Mohammedan  devotion  are  given  ;  also  tracts  on  Moslem 
wars;  "Women  in  Islam"  (by  the  Eight  Hon.  Amir 
Ali),  a  refutation  of  Canon  SelPs  books;  a  tract  on 
the  miracles  of  Mohammed  (!).  It  is  a  rather  miscel- 
laneous collection  of  old  and  new  views,  and  shows 
how  both  are  fermenting  in  the  minds  of  the  new  gen- 
eration in  the  effort  to  repulse  the  advance  of  Christian 
ideas. 

With  these  exceptions  one  cannot  say  that  the  modern 
movement  in  Indian  Islam  has  shown  many  signs  of 
vigour  lately.  Prom  Madras  we  hear  that  two  journals, 
The  Muslim  Patriot  and  Kaumi  Halchal,  were  started  to 
farther  the  movement,  but  have  both  collapsed  for  want 
of  support.  From  Delhi  a  correspondent  writes  :  "  Delhi 
is  still  too  preoccupied  with  her  past  fame  and  her  or- 
thodoxy to  afford  a  healthy  atmosphere  for  such  an 
exotic  as  Islamic  Eeform.  .  .  .  There  is  nothing 
here  which  can  be  dignified  by  the  name  of  a  reform 
movement."  From  Lucknow :  "There  is  nothing  to 
indicate  any  real  reform  and  progress  in  the  commu- 
nity." From  Bombay  :  "Eeform  has  not  found  a  strong 
echo  in  the  hearts  of  Bombay  Moslems.  The  reformer 
who  comes  from  North  India  or  elsewhere  does  not  find 
a  good  reaping  in  Bombay,  where  each  head  of  a  Moslem 
community  only  exercises  influence  over  his  own  com- 
munity and  is  never  recognized  by  members  of  another 
division." 

Of  the  attitude  of  men  of  the  new  learning  towards 
Christianity,  one  who  knows  them  well  writes:  "They 


284  Islam  and  Missions 

consider  Christianity  and  Islam  to  be  two  branches  of 
the  same  tree,  and  they  regard  the  morality  and  learn- 
ing of  the  Christian  religion  with  great  esteem.  Modern 
thought  is  certainly  spreading  among  them,  but  it  is  too 
early  to  estimate  its  effect."  The  old  school  laments  the 
consequent  decay  of  Arabic  study.  At  lectures  held  in 
November,  1909,  for  Mohammedans  in  Lahore,  the  In- 
dian Christian  lecturer  had  shown  considerable  dexterity 
in  his  use  of  Arabic  logic.  The  first  speaker  in  the 
discussion  which  ensued  was  the  editor  of  a  Moslem 
paper,  and  he  remarked:  "We  often  hear  nowadays 
that  the  study  of  the  ancients  is  no  longer  necessary. 
I  simply  ask  you,  after  what  we  have  heard  this  even- 
ing, can  we  afford  to  do  without  the  study  of  Arabic?  " 
During  the  discussion  after  another  lecture  in  the  same 
series  an  M.  A.  barrister  was  put  up  to  speak,  but 
whenever  he  tried  to  cite  the  Koran,  he  not  only 
chilled  the  hearers  by  reciting  in  the  tones  of  the  law- 
court  instead  of  the  musical  Jcirat  of  the  schools,  but 
he  boggled  over  his  quotations  and  had  to  be  prompted 
by  his  friends.  This  certainly  does  not  mean  that  ice 
can  afford  to  be  slack  in  the  acquisition  of  the  sacred 
tongue  of  the  Moslem  ;  on  the  contrary  it  is  rather  an 
encouragement  in  the  prosecution  of  our  studies.  And 
here  let  me  note  that  no  mission  library  should  be  with- 
out the  new  encyclopedia  of  Islam  which  is  being  issued 
by  Luzac  in  three  volumes  at  forty-five  shillings  each. 
The  first  dictionary  of  Islam  was  issued  by  a  missionary, 
the  Eev.  T.  P.  Hughes,  B.  D.,  Peshawar.  From  this 
second  work  the  missionary  scholar,  as  far  as  I  have 
noticed,  is  being  carefully  excluded,  and  we  shall  prob- 
ably have  to  read  many  things  in  it  which  we  do  not 
like,  but  none  the  less  is  it  needful  to  see  others  as  others 
see  them. 
Notwithstanding  what  has  been  said  above  as  to  the 


Reform  Movements  in  India  285 

slackness  of  the  modern  movement  in  Indian  Islam,  I 
strongly  believe  that  this  is  a  temporary  phase,  like  the 
present  reaction  against  liberalism  in  Turkey.  We  must 
keep  Moslem  modernism  steadily  in  view,  and  lay  our 
plans  for  dealing  with  a  greater  and  more  rapid  develop- 
ment of  it  in  future.  It  is  a  matter  for  thankfulness  that 
the  Christian  Literature  Society  have  been  producing 
English  works  for  Moslem  readers  which  help  to  meet 
the  needs  of  the  educated  classes.  Mr.  Gairdner's  dia- 
logues on  Inspiration,  The  Conception  of  God,  and  other 
topics,  and  Mr.  Mylrea's  monograph  on  The  Holy  Spirit 
in  Islam  are  examples  of  suggestive  and  fruitful  methods 
of  presenting  well-worn  subjects  or  bringing  forward  new 
ones.  At  the  same  time  we  have  to  remember  that  the 
Moslems  of  India  are  not  so  separate  from  non- Moslem  life 
as  in  many  other  parts,  and  therefore  they  are  open  to 
the  influence  of  literature  which  may  not  be  specially 
written  for  them. 

The  present  position  of  the  modernizing  Moslem  is  one 
of  many  reminders  that  we  must  not  let  our  efforts  in 
Anglo-vernacular  education  slacken.  The  spirit  of 
greater  friendliness  and  readiness  to  consider  the  claims 
of  the  Gospel  is  in  no  small  degree  due  to  the  education 
given  in  schools  and  colleges  which  has  taught  the 
Moslem  youth  a  respect  for  Christian  scholarship  and 
given  him  a  first  hand  acquaintance  with  the  Bible. 

Another  point  on  which  I  would  insist  is  that  we  must 
approach  the  educated  Musulman  in  a  spirit  of  apprecia- 
tion. In  his  case  the  attitude  of  arrogant  superiority 
assumed  by  the  ignorant  bigot  has  been  more  or  less 
replaced  by  a  sense  of  respect  for  the  achievements  of 
Christian  civilization  and  for  the  philanthropic  fruits  of 
the  Christian  religion.  But  never  let  this  make  us  assume 
an  air  of  patronage  as  to  the  adherent  of  a  half  barbaric 
religion.  If  with  pardonable  loyalty,  he  exaggerates  the 


286  Islam  and  Missions 

glories  of  the  culture  of  Bagdad  and  Cordova,  and  the 
intellectual  achievements  of  the  Arab  Schoolmen,  remem- 
ber that  his  history  does  contain  many  a  glorious  page. 
Let  us  have  done  with  the  mention  of  crusades  and 
crusaders.  We  gain  little  by  the  comparison  of  Ei chard 
Cceur  de  Lion  with  Salah  ud  Din  (Saladin).  And  let  us 
remember  that,  if  Islam  has  remained  the  religion  of 
nations  on  a  lower  scale  of  civilization,  its  professors 
have  at  least  succeeded  in  casting  down  the  barriers  of 
race  between  fellow  believers  considerably  more  than 
Christians.  And  remember  too  that  the  Indian  Moslem 
is  eminently  susceptible  to  the  influence  of  a  life  of  un- 
assuming, genuine  love  to  man,  lived  in  an  atmosphere 
of  humble  devotion  and  prayerfulness  in  God. 

Finally,  I  would  say,  let  us  strive  to  make  these  our 
brothers  and  sisters  conscious  that  we  value  and  live  by  the 
great  truths  common  to  both  religions  no  less  than  they. 
Consider  for  a  moment  how  much  of  the  Apostles'  Creed 
a  Musulman  professes.  "I  believe  in  God  Almighty, 
maker  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  in  Jesus  Christ,  who 
was  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  ascended  into  heaven, 
and  shall  come  again  ;  I  believe  in  the  communion  of 
saints,  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  and  the  life  everlast- 
ing." Now  these  foundation  truths  are  in  danger  of 
being  undermined,  not  in  themselves,  but  in  the  minds 
of  many,  by  the  dislocations  of  modern  thought,  and  the 
Moslem  with  his  backward  culture  has  far  less  chance 
of  dealing  successfully  with  these  difficulties  than  the 
Christian  with  his  heritage  of  continuous  and  progressive 
religious  thought.  Of  this  the  Moslem  is  to  some  degree 
conscious,  and  he  is  bound  to  become  increasingly  so. 
Let  him  feel  that  we  are  striving  to  preserve  this  price- 
less common  possession,  and  we  shall  the  better  be  able 
to  lead  him  on  to  see  that  those  articles  of  the  Christian 
creed  which  his  prophet  ignorantly  omitted  in  reality 


Reform  Movements  in  India  287 

supply  elements  which  are  needed  to  adjust  religion  with 
scientific  thought,  and  better  still  those  by  which  he  may 
attain  the  assurance  of  forgiveness,  the  power  of  sanctifi- 
cation,  and  the  sure  hope  of  eternal  life. 


XX 

EEFOEM  MOVEMENTS  IN  THE  NEAE  EAST 
REV.  JOHN  GIFFEN,  D.  D.,  CAIRO 


"  r  |  ^HE  whole  fabric  of  Islam  remains  precisely  as 
the  prophet  left  it,  neither  taken  from  nor 
1  added  to  —  his  work  alone.  As  the  faith 
issued  from  the  lips  of  Mohammed  or  was  embodied  in 
his  daily  life,  even  so  it  lived,  and  still  lives,  the  religion 
of  more  than  a  hundred  and  seventy  millions  of  our  race. 
4  This  day,'  as  he  said  at  the  Farewell  Pilgrimage,  'I 
have  perfected  your  religion  unto  you  ;-'  and  for  weal  or 
woe,  thus  perfect  and  complete,  it  has  ever  since  re- 
mained." Thus  closes  Sir  William  Muir's  "  Mohammed 
and  Islam,77  and  we  all  bow  to  his  authority  on  matters 
of  Islam. 

Such  a  system  seems  to  leave  no  place  for  reformation. 
Its  author  considered  it  perfect  and  so  his  followers  have 
considered  it  perfect.  It  has  virtually  remained  without 
reform  during  all  these  centuries  at  Cairo,  the  citadel  of 
its  strength,  at  Constantinople  the  seat  of  the  caliphate, 
at  Damascus  from  which  it  rules  Syria,  as  well  as  in  the 
Mosque  of  Omar  at  Jerusalem,  and  in  the  cities  along  the 
coast  of  North  Africa.  But  despite  its  claims  and  its 
history,  both  at  Cairo  and  Constantinople,  as  well  as  in 
all  the  other  regions  bordering  on  the  Great  Sea,  reform 
is  in  the  air. 

Reform  in  the  air  is  not  very  tangible,  it  is  hard  to  see, 
to  touch,  to  take  hold  of.  As  long  as  the  air  is  still,  its 
effect  may  not  be  very  perceptible.  Its  presence  can 
scarcely  be  known.  But  the  air  is  always  in  contact 

288 


Reform  Movements  in  the  Near  East       289 

with  the  earth.  Then  whatever  elements  it  may  have  in 
it,  that  are  capable  of  producing  changes  in  the  earth, 
have  a  chance  to  do  their  work.  Therefore,  if  there  is 
reform  in  the  air  about  Islam,  it  must  be  doing  something 
whether  we  see  it  or  not,  or  whether  Islam  itself  per- 
ceives it  or  not.  Furthermore,  permit  me  to  assure  you 
that  the  Mohammedan  atmosphere  in  these  parts  is  sur- 
charged with  reform.  Every  Moslem  breathes  it,  and 
breathing  it,  it  must  affect  his  life. 

When  I  began  to  think  of  preparing  this  paper,  I 
wrote  to  a  most  intelligent,  earnest  worker  in  regard  to 
the  subject.  He  replied  that  he  had  thought  of  the  mat- 
ter, and  he  had  consulted  a  colleague  who  has  been  a 
missionary  in  these  parts  for  more  than  half  a  century, 
"and,"  said  he,  "we  both  plead  ignorance  of  anything 
of  great  value  in  Syria  of  this  kind."  Still,  I  am  sure, 
that  both  these  missionaries  will  agree  with  me  that  there 
is  reform  in  the  air. 

If  in  some  way  the  air  can  be  set  in  motion ;  if  some 
master  of  science  shall  arise  who  will  turn  to  account  the 
electricity  with  which  it  is  charged,  then  there  will  be 
results  which  shall  be  seen  and  felt. 

The  evidence  is  abundant  that  the  elements  of  doctri- 
nal and  social  reform  exist  in  the  Islamic  atmosphere  of 
Mediterranean  lands. 

The  Pan-Islamic  Movement  may  be  mentioned  first, 
though  it  is  far  from  being  the  most  important  as  a  re- 
form movement.  Indeed  it  may  be  denied  whether  it  be 
reform  at  all.  It  is  supposed  to  be  aggressive.  To  be 
aggressive  it  must  also  be  reformatory.  As  I  understand 
it,  this  is  a  movement  to  gather  the  scattered  members 
into  one  body.  In  order  to  do  this  differences  must  be 
eliminated,  or  at  any  rate  smoothed  over  so  that  the 
members  may  fit  one  into  another.  To  do  this  rites  and 
customs  which  are  found  in  one  sect  and  not  in  another 


290  Islam  and  Missions 

are  being  left  off.  Especially  is  this  true  of  such  cere- 
monies as  are  in  themselves  repulsive  to  twentieth  cen- 
tury civilization.  I  am  told  on  good  authority  that 
numerous  smaller  "  Mulids  "  have  been  discontinued  in 
Egypt.  The  "Doseh"  was  a  part  of  the  celebration  of 
the  "  Mulid  en  Nebi "  itself  at  Cairo.  I  remember  well 
witnessing  its  last  performance.  That  the  Sheikh  of  the 
Saadiye  dervishes  should  ride  on  horseback  over  the 
prostrate  bodies  of  faithful  Moslems  was  too  revolting  to 
the  feelings  of  intelligent  men  to  be  tolerated  longer.  It 
is  true  that  this  particular  instance  of  reform  happened 
before  the  movement  called  pan-Islamism  was  recognized 
and  named,  but  the  spirit  that  demanded  these  elisions 
has  eventuated  in  the  movement,  and  its  friends  demand 
that  it  be  carried  still  farther,  that  Islam  may  present 
a  united  front,  and  move  on  to  conquest.  The  Anglo- 
Egyptian  control  in  the  Sudan,  by  its  Egyptian  army 
with  British  officers,  making  the  Arabic  language  the 
vehicle  of  communication,  and  the  Moslem  a  Jumaa  " 
the  weekly  rest  day  instead  of  Sunday,  by  its  building 
mosques  at  public  expense  and  its  repressing  Christian 
missions  is  aiding  the  pan-Islamic  propaganda.  This  is 
a  fact  too  well  known  to  need  comment.  How  far  the 
type  of  Islam  thus  fostered  is  reformed  remains  to  be 
seen. 

The  "  New  Islam  "  is  another  evidence  that  reform  is 
in  the  air.  As  it  appears  to  me,  the  movement  which 
has  this  name  is  but  an  expression  for  the  influence  of 
Western  thought  and  Western  life  on  Islam  when  the  two 
are  brought  into  close  contact.  It  was  the  presence  of 
Christian  civilization  and  influence  which  produced  in 
India  the  New  Islam,  as  Dr.  Weitbrecht  showed  us  in  the 
paper  which  he  presented  at  the  first  meeting  of  this  con- 
ference at  Cairo  in  1906.  The  opening  of  the  Suez  Canal, 
and  the  events  of  1882  in  Egypt  brought  that  country 


Reform  Movements  in  the  Near  East       291 

into  the  closest  touch  with  all  that  is  Western.  An  era 
of  unprecedented  financial  prosperity  in  the  Nile  valley 
filled  the  pockets  of  many  a  Moslem,  and  so  he  took  his 
family  to  summer  on  the  continent  or  even  to  England. 
Being  intelligent  he  has  learned  much  of  European  cus- 
toms, dress,  manner  of  life — much  which  Islam  could 
never  have  given  him.  So  he  becomes  dissatisfied  with 
his  religious  forms  and  formulas,  but  finds  them  inelastic 
as  they  have  been  always  understood.  He  then  sets 
about  interpreting  them  for  himself.  Where  a  literal 
interpretation  will  not  suit  him,  he  makes  it  figurative, 
and  spiritualizes  it.  So  the  Koran  and  the  Hadith  take 
on  a  new  meaning.  This  method  gives  an  easy  way  to 
reconcile  contradictions,  and  gives  a  reasonable  gloss  to 
absurdities  in  theological  standards. 

It  is  hard  to  measure  the  influence  of  changes  of  this 
character.  Some  institutions  and  teachers  will  be  more 
influenced  than  others,  and  some  will  influence  more  than 
others.  The  leaven  is  working.  It  may  be  a  question 
whether  it  is  strengthening  or  whether  it  be  rather  un- 
dermining Islam.  As  far  as  it  goes,  it  is  a  re-forming  of 
the  religion,  whether  it  be  a  reformation,  a  change  for 
the  better  or  not.  It  seems  to  be  a  sort  of  spiritualizing, 
sublimizing  of  old  forms ;  not  an  actual  reform ;  but  a 
reaching  out  after  something  better  than  Islam  itself 
gives.  It  is  a  loosening  from  the  old,  a  feeling  for  the 
new.  May  we  not  say  that  it  is  an  opening  of  the  door 
to  admit  that  which  only  the  Gospel  can  supply. 

Another  evidence  that  reform  is  in  the  air  is  the  cha- 
otic state  of  purely  Mohammedan  schools  in  Egypt. 
What  is  true  of  Egypt  is  probably  true  of  these  schools 
in  other  parts  of  the  Levant.  I  can  only  refer  to  two 
notable  examples  to  illustrate  my  meaning. 

The  great  school  at  the  Mosque  Al  Azhar  in  Cairo  haa 
long  been  considered  the  great  centre  of  Islamic  learning. 


292  Islam  and  Missions 

Students  have  been  gathered  from  all  parts  of  the  Mo- 
hammedan world.  It  has  often  been  referred  to  as  a 
great  university,  claiming  to  have  within  its  walls  at 
times  as  many  as  twenty  thousand  students.  Its  author- 
ities themselves  have  never  called  it  a  university.  They 
are  now  proposing  to  do  so,  introducing  changes  at  the 
same  time  to  justify  the  change  in  name.  A  scheme  for 
its  reform  has  been  drawn  up,  which  has  received  the 
sanction  of  the  Khedive ;  except,  it  is  said,  the  clause 
giving  its  chancellor  and  his  permanent  committee 
powers  of  administration  over  all  other  mosques,  which 
are  considered  as  auxiliaries  to  Al  Azhar.  "  His  High- 
ness thinks,"  says  a  Nationalist  paper,  "  that  decentrali- 
zation is  better  and  more  conducive  to  efficiency  in  such 
matters."  This  is  said  to  be  the  ninth  time  in  the  last 
forty  years  that  the  laws  and  programmes  of  Al  Azhar 
have  been  radically  changed  ;  and  this  last  has  been  con- 
sidered much  more  sweeping  and  radical  than  all  others. 
New  studies  in  science  and  philosophy  are  to  be  intro- 
duced. By  this  new  reform,  it  is  said,  the  Azhar  will 
assume  the  dignity  of  a  great  university,  and  be  recog- 
nized as  the  head  and  centre  of  all  Mohammedan  learning 
in  Egypt.  If  it  be  considered  so  in  Egypt  it  may  be 
counted  so  for  the  whole  Moslem  world.  All  this  is  but 
on  paper  as  yet.  And  as  Colonel  Eoosevelt  said  of  a 
paper  constitution,  it  is  of  no  value  so  long  as  it  is  only 
paper.  It  is  certain  too  that  the  Mosque  Al  Azhar  lacks 
most  of  the  elements  that  make  a  true  university. 

Another  claimant  for  the  title  of  university  is  the  new 
one  which  has  been  named  "The  National  University  of 
Egypt."  However,  this  does  not  claim  to  be  in  any  sense 
a  rival  institution  to  Al  Azhar.  Al  Azhar  has  always 
been,  and  will  still  be  distinctly  religious,  making  the 
propagation  of  Mohammedan  doctrines  its  special  end 
and  aim.  The  National  University,  while  nominally 


Reform  Movements  in  the  Near  East       293 

Moslem,  brings  its  lecturers  from  wherever  it  can  get 
them.  It  would  even  seem  that  the  less  religion  of  any 
sort  these  teachers  have,  the  better  they  are  qualified  for 
the  teaching  to  be  given  there.  Its  fortifications  are  only  a 
few  thousand  pounds,  and  its  leaders  men  of  no  special 
training  for  the  positions  they  occupy.  No  comprehen- 
sive scheme  has  been  sketched  even,  much  less  any  at- 
tempt to  realize  one.  Its  only  building  recently  served 
the  not  very  noble  purpose  of  a  cigarette  factory.  Let 
us  hope  that  the  dreams  of  its  founders  will  not  all  go  up 
in  smoke.  As  yet,  no  regular  classes  have  been  formed. 
Only  lectures  are  given  on  certain  subjects.  It  is  of  in- 
terest to  note  here  that  one  of  the  lecturers  that  has  re- 
cently been  employed  is  a  lady,  a  daughter  of  a  certain 
Hafni  Nasif,  and  she  bears  the  nom  de  plume  of  '  i  Bahith 
BilBadia"  (Investigator  of  Principles).  Both  the  name 
and  the  fact  that  she,  a  lady,  is  a  lecturer  in  a  Moham- 
medan university  are  significant  of  reform. 

Another  force  is  that  of  New  Literature. 

Islam  is  a  religion  of  a  Book,  as  Dr.  Zwemer  remarks. 
Its  book  is  called  the  "  Eeader  "  (Koran).  The  book  is 
not  to  be  read  only,  but  to  be  studied,  to  be  committed,  to 
be  recited  religiously.  The  traditions  and  fetvas  are  all 
written  down  and  bound  up  in  volumes.  These  have 
hundreds  of  volumes  of  commentaries  written  on  them. 
The  Arabic  library  at  Cairo  is  an  immense  building,  and 
it  is  filled  with  this  sort  of  literature.  Most  of  these  are 
hoary.  They  all  deal  with  Islam  as  a  perfect  system, 
"  not  to  be  added  to,  nor  taken  from." 

But  there  has  appeared  recently  another  sort  of  litera- 
ture. These  recent  books  call  loudly  for  reform  in 
the  system  inculcated  by  those  older  books.  Mohammed 
Abdo,  late  Mufti  of  all  Egypt,  was  a  writer  of  this  sort  of 
literature.  He  used  the  functions  of  his  office  to  enforce 
his  teaching.  His  doctrines  and  rulings  were  especially 


294  Islam  and  Missions 

effective  in  questions  of  divorce.  In  regard  to  divorce, 
the  teaching  of  the  Koran  and  the  practice  of  earlier  and 
later  leaders  of  the  people,  is  the  crime  of  crimes  against 
woman,  degrading  to  both  man  and  woman,  and  subver- 
sive of  all  that  is  pure  and  good  in  family  life.  Moham- 
med Abdo  also  wrote  a  book  entitled  "  Amud  al 
Muslimin,"  which  is  said  to  be  a  powerful  arraignment 
of  a  number  of  the  doctrines  and  practices  of  the  religion 
with  which  he  was  identified,  and  which  he  knew  per- 
fectly at  first  hand. 

The  late  Emin  Bey  Kasem  wrote  two  books  that  have 
become  celebrated.  Every  young  man,  and  even  every 
young  woman  in  Egypt  who  wishes  to  be  considered  as  be- 
longing to  the  class  "intelligent,"  feels  it  necessary  to  read 
these  books.  Their  titles  sufficiently  indicate  their  char- 
acter, and  show  what  is  a  burning  question  with  intelli- 
gent young  Mohammedans  in  these  parts.  "  The  New 
Woman"  and  "The  Emancipation  of  Woman"  are 
full  of  good  ideas,  and  show  what  the  gifted  young  writer 
thought  absolutely  necessary,  that  Islam  may  have  the 
appearance  of  a  religion  for  the  twentieth  century. 

Sheikh  Ajmal  Sidki  az  Zahari  al  Arafi  has  written 
numerous  essays  on  "The  Veil"  and  what  it  means  of 
degradation,  imprisonment,  and  slavery  of  women.  A 
poet  of  some  celebrity  in  Cairo  has  written  poems  urging 
that  Moslem  women  discard  the  veil,  and  come  out  into 
the  light  of  life  and  the  day.  But  what  would  Mohammed 
think  of  a  Moslem  that  would  think  it  wrong  to  have 
more  than  one  wife,  and  she  to  wear  a  plumed  hat,  and 
to  ride  with  her  husband  in  an  automobile,  or  to  eat  at 
table  with  knife  and  fork  in  company  with  her  own  and 
her  husband's  guests  ?  What  could  he  think  ? 

The  great  engine  for  bringing  about  reforms  is  the 
newspaper.  Are  the  newspapers  reforming  Islam? 
There  are  hundreds  of  them  in  the  Levant  where  a  score 


Reform  Movements  in  the  Near  East       295 

of  years  ago  there  were  tens.  They  are  read  by  every- 
body who  can  read.  The  newsboys  sell  them  in  sets  of 
two,  three  or  four  at  a  time  to  a  purchaser  ;  for  people 
want  to  know  what  is  being  said  by  the  different  papers. 
Every  one  of  them  is  crying  reform.  It  is  political  re- 
form that  they  claim  to  want.  But  with  Mohammedans 
politics  are  never  to  be  separated  from  religion.  They 
are  in  his  mind  inseparable.  The  cry  of  "  Nationalism  " 
means  a  Mohammedan  nation,  in  which  only  Moham- 
medans have  equal  rights  as  far  as  there  are  equal  rights 
at  all.  When  the  agitation  began  of  "  Egypt  for  the 
Egyptians"  many  Christians  shouted  as  loudly  as  any 
Mohammedan.  It  was  not  long  however  before  the  true 
nature  of  the  movement  was  discovered,  and  the  assas- 
sination of  the  Prime  Minister — the  first  Copt  of  the  land 
— so  emphasized  the  fact  that  it  was  a  movement  for 
more  complete  Mohammedan  control,  that  from  that  day 
no  Christian  identifies  himself  with  that  party.  All  this 
agitation  has  served  but  to  awaken  Mohammedan  feeling 
and  intensify  it,  not  to  reform  it  in  the  least.  Fewer 
young  men  frequented  the  cafe's  of  Cairo  during  Eamadan 
this  year  than  usual.  That  is,  more  of  the  "Effendi" 
class  fasted  during  the  month  than  in  years  previous  to 
this  one.  So  the  tendency  appears  to  be  to  intensify, 
rather  than  to  reform;  to  engender  hatred  towards 
Christians  rather  than  to  accord  to  them  equal  political 
rights  with  themselves. 

I  mention  lastly  one  of  the  most  palpable  evidences  of 
the  fact  that  reform  is  in  the  air  in  Mohammedan  lands. 

The  Eevolution  at  Constantinople  has  given  to  the 
government  of  the  Caliph  a  constitution  since  the  meet- 
ing of  this  conference  at  Cairo.  A  constitution  was 
drafted,  and  even  granted  years  ago,  but  not  promulgated 
nor  put  in  force.  The  new  one  has  been  promulgated 
and  put  in  force  with  a  good  deal  of  energy  and  eclat 


296  Islam  and  Missions 

Press  laws  have  been  abolished  and  full  liberty  has  been 
given  to  publish  accounts  of  what  has  been  done  and  is 
being  done.  Periodical  publications  of  all  sorts  have 
multiplied  like  mushrooms  in  a  hotbed.  It  remains  to 
be  seen  whether  the  figure  will  apply  in  other  respects 
than  that  of  number.  It  is  curious  to  note  that  when 
press  laws  were  being  abolished  at  Constantinople  they 
were  being  revived  and  enforced  at  Cairo  with  new 
vigour. 

It  is  early  yet  to  pronounce  the  new  regime  at  the 
Sublime  Porte  either  a  success  or  a  failure.  It  has  given 
a  certain  confidence  to  enterprises  for  public  improve- 
ment. It  has  not  succeeded  in  making  the  persecuted 
Armenians  feel  safe,  nor  even  in  stopping  rapine  and 
slaughter  among  them.  The  flight  of  young  men  from 
Syria  to  the  West,  to  seek  in  America  what  their  own 
country  has  denied  them,  still  continues.  The  great 
failure  has  been  that  the  new  government  has  not  been 
able  to  show  that  it  even  means  to  mete  out  even-handed 
justice  to  all  races  and  religions.  On  the  other  hand  it 
has  already  shown,  just  what  the  Nationalist  party  in 
Egypt  has  shown — that  it  aims  at  Moslem  supremacy 
and  Moslem  aggrandizement  alone. 

But  if  the  oxygen  of  reform  is  in  the  air,  are  there  no 
signs  that  the  work  of  oxydization  has  begun  t  Are 
there  no  indications  of  reform  of  any  sort  t  There  cer- 
tainly are  such  indications. 

Mohammedanism  permits  slavery.  The  large  majority 
of  Mohammedans  may  not  own  slaves,  for  they  are  under 
Christian  laws,  and  no  Christian  government  permits 
slavery.  Even  under  Mohammedan  governments  it  is 
unlawful  and  departments  for  the  suppression  of  the 
slave  trade  are  supported  at  government  expense. 

The  suppression  of  the  slave  trade  represses  polygamy 
and  the  seraglio  which  fed  on,  and  demanded  slavery. 


Reform  Movements  in  the  Near  East       297 

Ismail  Pasha,  the  first  Khedive  of  Egypt,  was  a  great 
palace-builder,  and  he  had  the  palaces  filled  with  wives 
and  concubines  of  all  grades.  His  son  Tewfik  lived  a 
continent  life  with  one  wife.  The  present  Khedive, 
Abbas  II,  had  for  years  but  one  wife.  He  has  recently 
taken  another  woman,  a  Christian,  and  made  her  a  Mos- 
lem and  his  wife  at  the  same  time.  Eeport  has  it  that 
he  has  not,  by  doing  so,  increased  either  family  happi- 
ness or  his  own  peace. 

Competent  witnesses  agree  in  asserting  that  polygamy 
is  not  so  prevalent  in  the  Levant  as  it  has  formerly  been. 
Rev.  George  C.  Doolittle  writes  me  that  he  was  surprised 
to  hear  on  good  authority  that  only  one  man  in  the  large 
town  of  Sidon  has  more  than  one  wife.  It  may  be  there 
are  many  more  towns  in  Syria  and  other  parts  of  this 
section  in  which  the  same  would  be  true,  but  Sidon  is 
perhaps  much  above  the  average  in  that  respect.  It 
would  be  interesting  to  know  how  many  divorces  there 
have  been  in  Sidon  in  the  last  ten  years.  However  it 
will  naturally  follow  that  when  polygamy  decreases,  the 
number  of  divorces,  as  well  as  the  chief  cause  for  them, 
will  naturally  decrease. 

Other  customs  of  minor  importance,  as  the  screaming 
of  women  (az  zar)  in  funeral  and  other  such  mournings 
have  been  forbidden  in  Cairo  and  in  other  large  cities, 
and  what  is  forbidden  in  the  cities  soon  becomes  un- 
fashionable in  the  villages.  The  eating  of  meat  slaugh- 
tered by  infidels  is  no  longer  prohibited,  so  that  meat 
shops  kept  by  European  and  other  Christians  or  by  Jews 
are  patronized  by  Mohammedans. 

Dreams  and  their  interpretation  do  not  now  have  the 
importance  once  attached  to  them.  Distinctively  Ori- 
ental costumes  for  both  men  and  women  are  being  re- 
placed by  Western  dress.  A  teacher  in  one  of  our 
schools  for  girls,  when  teaching  an  advanced  class  and 


298  Islam  and  Missions 

remarking  on  the  different  customs  that  exist  in  differ- 
ent countries  among  different  peoples,  referred  to  the 
Oriental  custom  of  removing  shoes  in  entering  a  house 
or  place  of  worship  where  one  desires  to  show  respect. 
There  were  Moslem  girls  in  the  class,  and  all  denied 
that  there  (had  ever  been  such  a  custom  in  Cairo.  That 
just  meant  that  they  had  always  worn  shoes  instead  of 
merakib,  and  so  had  not  even  known  that  what  was  sig- 
nified by  the  removal  of  the  hat  in  one  country  was  indi- 
cated by  removing  the  shoes  in  another. 

Many  other  trifles,  or  what  may  appear  on  the  surface 
to  be  trifles,  might  be  mentioned.  But  though  they  may 
be  trifles,  they  indicate  a  trend.  They  show  the  direc- 
tion of  the  wind,  and  that  the  air  is  moving. 

Let  it  be  noted  in  conclusion  that  not  one  element  of 
any  reform  which  has  taken  place,  nor  of  any  reform 
that  is  indicated  by  any  change  already  accomplished, 
has  been  from  within  Islam.  Islam  has  no  reforming 
element  within  it.  What  has  been  done  has  been  ef- 
fected by  contact  with  that  which  is  without.  Western 
civilization,  Western  customs,  Western  education,  intel- 
ligence, and  power  have  alone  done  what  has  been  done, 
and  must,  I  am  'persuaded,  do  what  shall  yet  be  done. 

"  Behold,  the  fields  are  white  already  to  the  harvest." 


TRAVEL,  MISSIONARY 


JOHN  W.  ARCTANDER 

The  Apostle  of  Alaska 

The  Story  of  WILLIAM  DUNCAN  of  MSTLAXAHTLA.  illus- 
trated, ismo,  cloth,  net  $1.50. 

A  record  of  the  phenomenal  life-work  and  thrilling  ex- 
periences of  William  Duncan  during  fifty  years  among  the 
Indians  in  British  Columbia  and  Alaska.  Marvellous  is  this 
story  of  the  reformation  in  the  Indian  character  and  its  di- 
version to  useful,  practical  pursuits  as  Duncan  tells  of  how  he 
originated  industrial  enterprises,  such  as  boat-building,  saw- 
milling,  and  established  a  large  and  lucrative  salmon  cannery, 
acting  all  the  while  as  instructor  and  overseer,  besides  being 
school-master,  preacher  and  pastor.  It  reads  like  a  romance 
as  it  narrates  the  wonderful  story  of  his  missionary  work  and 
industrial  labors  among  his  loved  chosen  people. 

GERALD INE  GUINNESS 

Peru :  Its  Story,  People  and  Religion 

Illustrated,  8vo,  cloth,  net  $2.50. 

Miss  Guinness,  from  an  extended  tour  of  Peru,  has  pre- 
pared a  wonderful  volume  of  description.  She  pictures  a 
land  of  great  extremes  of  climate;  gardens  flourishing  at 
altitudes  higher  than  Mt.  Blanc  and  deserts  at  the  sea  side, 
and  a  people  sadly  in  need  of  the  touch  of  Christian  civiliza- 
tion. The  author  s  father,  H.  Grattan  Guinness,  has  provided 
for  the  book  45  illustrations,  photographs,  maps,  photograv- 
ures. 

G.  Campbell  Morgan  says:  "From  whatever  standpoint  I 
approch  this  work,  I  find  it  impossible  to  speak  too  highly 
in  praise  of  it.  Its  literary  style  is  full  of  charm,  and  withal 
full  of  life.  Its  grouping  of  facts  is  superbly  done." 


MANUEL  AND  U JAR 

Spain  of  To-day  from  Within 

With    Autobiography    of    Author.     Illustrated,    izmo,    cloth, 
net  $1.25. 

An  instructive,  interesting  narrative  of  a  native  of  Spain, 
who  knows  his  country  well.  He  was  brought  up  a  Catholic, 
and  later  on  embracing  the  Protestant  religion,  he  became  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel.  The  stories  of  his  travels  in  Spain 
will  be  found  entertaining  as  well  as  instructive  reading,  as 
will  be  his  glad  narrative  of  the  progress  of  evangelical  work 
in  that  priest-ridden  nation.  The  book  is  delightfully  illus- 
trated, and  will  be  sure  to  be  widely  and  eagerly  read. 


TRAVEL,  MISSIONARY 


H.  G.   UNDERWOOD 

The  Call  of  Korea 

New   Popular   Edition.      Paper,    net    350.      Regular   Edition, 

i2mo,  cloth,  net  750. 

"As  attractive  as  a  novel — packed  with  information.  Dr. 
Underwood  knows  Korea,  its  territory,  its  people,  and  its 
needs,  and  his  book  has  special  value  which  attaches  to  expert 
judgment.  Particularly  well  suited  to  serve  as  a  guide  to 
young  people  in  the  study  of  missions." — Examiner. 

WILLIAM  O.  CARVER 

Missions  in  the  Plan  of  the  Ages 

Bible  Studies  and  Missions.     i2tno,  cloth,  net  $1.25. 

As  Professor  of  Comparative  Religion  and  Missions  in 
the  Southern  Baptist  Theological  Seminary  at  Louisville,  Dr. 
Carver  has  prepared  in  these  chapters  the  fruit  of  many 
years'  study.  His  aim  is  to  show  that  the  foundation  prin- 
ciples of  the  Christian  task  of  world  conquest  are  found  in 
the  Bible  not  so  much  in  the  guise  of  a  commanded  duty  as 
in  the  very  life  of  the  Christian  faith. 

ANNIE  L.  A.   BAIRD 

Daybreak  in  Korea 

Illustrated,  i6mo,  cloth,  net  6oc. 

There  can  never  be  too  many  missionary  books  like  this. 
A  story  written  with  literary  skill,  the  story  of  a  girl's  life 
in  Korea,  her  unhappy  marriage  and  how  the  old,  old  story 
transformed  her  home.  It  reads  like  a  novel  and  most  of  all 
teaches  one,  on  every  page,  just  what  the  Gospel  means  to 
the  far  eastern  homes. 

ISABELLA   RIGGS  WILLIAMS 

By  the  Great  Wall 

Selected  Correspondence  of  Isabella  Riggs  Williams,  Mis- 
sionary of  the  American  Board  to  China,  1866-1897. 
With  an  introduction  by  Arthur  H.  Smith.  Illustrated, 
ismo,  cloth,  net  $1.50. 

"This  volume  is  a  little  window  opened  into  the  life  and 
work  of  an  exceptionally  equipped  missionary.  It  was  at 
Kalgan,  the  northern  gateway  of  China,  that  a  misssion 
station  was  begun  amid  a  people  hard  and  unimpressible. 
It  was  here  that  Mrs.  Williams  won  the  hearts  of  Chinese 
women  and  girls;  here  that  she  showed  what  a  Christian 
home  may  be,  and  how  the  children  of  such  a  home  can  be 
trained  for  wide  and  unselfish  usefulness  wherever  their  lot 
is  cast.  No  object-lesson  is  more  needed  in  the  Celestial  Empire 
than  this.  f  Many  glimpses  of  that  patient  and  tireless  mis- 
sionary activity  which  makes  itself  all  things  to  all  men  are 
given.''— -Arthur  H.  Smith,  Author  of  Chinese  Characteristics, 
Etc. 


TRAVEL,  MISSIONARY 


JULIUS  RICHTER 

The  History  of  Protestant  Missions 

in  India         8vo,  cloth,  net  $2.50. 

Dr.  Harlan  P.  Beach  says:  "The  editor  of  Die  Evangel- 
ischen  Missionen  has  long  been  known  as  a  chief  authority 
on  missions,  while  his  two  volumes,  one  on  North  and  the 
other  on  South  India,  have  made  him  an  Indian  specialist  of 
the  highest  order.  Dr.  Richter's  third  volume  on  that  Em- 
pire is  by  far  the  most  important  contribution  to  the  history 
of  Indian  missions  that  has  ever  been  published." 

SAMUEL   MERWIN 

Drugging  a  Nation 

The  Story  of  the  Influence  of  Opium  on  the  Chinese  Nation. 

i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.00. 

"The  first  real  story  of  the  opium  curse  of  China.  During 
its  preparation  the  author  travelled  around  the  world  inquiring 
into  the  problem  at  first  hand  and  reading  everything  avail- 
able on  the  subject.  Mr.  Merwin's  book  is  one  that  will  be 
studied  by  all  who  have  the  interests  of  China  at  heart." 
— Portland  Evening  Telegram. 

HORACE  N.  ALLEN,  M.D. 

Things  Korean 

i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.25. 

"If  you  want  some  hours  of  delightful  amusement,  in 
which  you  will  find  that  incidentally  you  are  imbibing  a  great 
deal  of  information  about  that  strange  and  interesting  coun- 
try and  its  people,  you  will  buy  the  book.  Ine  book  is  epi- 
sodical, anecdotal  and  affords  just  that  discursive  and  pleasant 
reading  which  everybody  likes." — Toledo  Blade. 


MISCELLANEOUS 


HORACE  C.  STANTON 

The  Starry  Universe  the  Christian's 
Future  Empire   I2m°i  cioth,  net  11.25. 

A  study  of  what  inspiration  reveals  about  the  transcendent 
physical  powers,  privileges  and  possibilities  of  the  coming 
life.  All  the  methods  of  the  future  life  are  little  more  than 
sketched  in  divine  revelation.  This  author  attempts  to  fill 
in  the  hopes  of  the  human  heart.  His  work  is  rational  and 
reasonable  and  the  work  is  one  that  will  bring  comfort  to 
those  whose  thoughts  are  especially  turned  this  way  by  reason 
of  bereavement.  The  author  is  a  successful  pastor  and  write* 
to  the  needs  of  the  human  heart  as  he  knows  it. 


MISSIONARY—TRAVELS 


The  Call  of  Korea 

Illustrated,  net,  750.  H.  O.  UNDERWOOD 

"Dr.  Underwood  knows  Korea,  JtS  territory,  its  people, 
and  its  needs,  and  his  book  has  the  special  value  that  at- 
taches to  expert  judgment.  The  volume  is  packed  with  in- 
formation, but  it  is  written  in  so  agreeable  a  style  that  it  is 
as  attractive  as  a  novel,  and  particularly  well  suited  to 
serve  as  a  guide  to  our  young  people  in  their  study  of  mis- 
sions."— The  Examiner. 


Thtnrf*  Korean  A  Collection  of  Sketches  and  Anecdotes, 
1  IlingS  IVOrean  Diplomatic  and  Missionary. 

Illustrated,  net,  $1.25.  HORACE  N.  ALLEN 

Gathered  from  a  twenty  years'  residence  in  Korea  and  neigh- 
boring countries  by  the  late  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister 
Plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  to  Korea. 

Breaking  Down  Chinese  Walls 

From  a  Doctor's  Viewpoint. 
Illustrated,  net,  $1.00.  ELLIOTT  I.  OSGOOD 

"Dr.  Osgood  was  for  eight  years  a  physician  at  Chu 
Cheo,  and  conducted  a  hospital  and  dispensary,  visiting  and 
preaching  the  Gospel  in  the  villages  round  about.  He  writes 
from  experience.  The  object  is  to  show  the  influence  and 
power  of  the  medical  missionary  service,  and  of  the  daily 
lives  of  the  missionaries  upon  the  natives,  t9ld  in  a  most  in- 
teresting manner  by  the  record  of  the  living  examples." — 
United  Presbyterian. 

Present-Day  Conditions  in  China 

Boards,  net,  500.  MARSHALL  BROOMHALL 

"This  book  is  very  impressive  to  those  who  do  know 
something  of  "present-day  conuitions  in  China,"  and  most 
startling  to  those  who  do  not.  Maps,  tables  and  letterpress 
combine  to  give  a  marvelous  presentation  of  facts." — Eugene 
Stock,  Church  Missionary  Society. 

The  New  Horoscope  of  Missions 

Net,  $1.00.  JAMES  S.  DENNIS 

"Dr.  Dennis,  who  has  long  been  a  close  student  of  for- 
eign missions,  and  speaks  with  authority,  gives  in  this  volume 
a  broad  general  view  of  the  present  aspects  of  the  missionary 
situation,  as  foundation  for  'the  new  horoscope'  which  he 
aims  to  give.  The  book  is  made  up  of  lectures  delivered  at 
the  McCormick  Theological  Seminary  on  The  John  H.  Con- 
verse Foundation." — Examiner. 


CHRISTOLOGY 


What  Jesus  Said 

The  Great  Discourse  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God. 

12010,  cloth,  net  $1.00. 

Here  we  have  the  words  or  sayings  of  Jesus  compiled 
topically,  without  extraneous  matter.  The  book  meets  a  dis- 
tinct want. 

F.  R.  MONTGOMERY  HITCHCOCK 

Chrisl:  and  His  Critics 

I2tno,   cloth,    $1.00. 

A  discriminating  and  original  description  of  prominent 
aspects  of  the  Life  of  Christ  as  touched  upon  by  criticism 
and  research,  displaying  both  a  thorough  mastery  of  the 
subject  and  a  most  refreshing  style. 

BISHOP  WM.  FRAZER  Me  DO  WELL 

In  the  School  of  Chris! 

Cole  Lectures  for  iqio.      i2mo,   Cloth,   net  $1.25. 

A  thoughtful,  sympathetic,  and  original  arrangement 
of  the  teaching  Christ  gave  to  His  disciples  to  fit  them  for 
the  apostolate.  The  chapters  are  suggestive  in  their  very 
titles:  Chosen  by  the  Master — I  To  Hear  What  He  Says; 
II  To  See  What  He  Does;  III  To  Learn  What  He  Is. 
Sent  Forth  by  the  Master— I  With  a  Message;  II  With  a 
Program;  III  With  a  Personality. 

CHARLES  McTYEIRE  BISHOP,  D.  D. 

Jesus  the  Worker 

Studies  in  the  Ethical  Leadership  of  the  Son  of  Man.     The 
Cole  Lectures  for  iqog,     i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.25. 
"The    scholarly    attainments    and    vigor    of    this    well- 
trained  mind   were   known  to   a  wide  circle  of   friends  who 
were  ready  to  declare  that  the  lectures  for  1909  would  take 
rank  among  the   best   delivered   upon   this   foundation.     This 
prophecy  has  been   fulfilled." — Nashville  Christian  Advocate. 

JOHN  A.   HUTTON,  M.A. 

The  Authority  and  Person  of  Our  Lord 

i6mo,   Cloth,   net   soc. 

A  penetratng  and  original  discussion  of  the  Deity  of 
Jesus.  The  lectures  which  constitute  it  were  delivered  at 
Northfield  and  there  created  interest.  Its  small  size  makes 
it  easily  read  in  an  hour. 

CLELAND  B.  McAFEE,  D.  D. 

Studies  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 

i2tno,    cloth,   net   $1.00. 

Dr.  McAfee  brings  to  whatever  he  discusses  a  freshness 
and  originality  which  makes  a  place  for  whatever  he  may 
write.  In  these  studies  his  aim  seems  to  have  been  to  touch 
as  far  as  possible  those  aspects  and  applications  of  the  great 
discourse  usually  passed  over. 


MISSIONARY 


ROBERT  E.  SPEER 

Christianity  and  the  Nations 

The   Duff  Lectures   for    1910. 

8vo,  cloth,  net    $2.00. 

Among  the  many  notable  volumes  that  have  resulted 
from  the  well-known  Duff  foundation  Lectureship  this  new 
work  embodying  the  series  given  by  Mr.  Robert  E.  Speer 
in  Edinburgh,  Glasgow  and  Aberdeen,  will  ra^k  among  the 
most  important.  The  general  theme,  "The  Rt/lex  Influence 
of  Missions  upon  the  Nations,"  suggests  a  large,  important, 
and  most  interesting  work.  The  name  of  the  lecturer  is 
sufficient  guarantee  of  the  method  of  treatment, 

HENRY  H.  JESS  UP 

Fifty-three  Years  in  Syria 

Introduction  by  James  S.  Dennis.     Two  volumes,  illustrated, 

8vo,  cloth,  boxed,  net  $5.00. 

This  autobiographical  record  of  half  a  century's  experi- 
ence in  the  mission  field  of  Syria,  is  rich  in  color,  narra- 
tive and  insight.  It  is  also  incidentally  a  history  of  the 
mission  work  for  the  period  but  told  with  a  personal  touch 
and  from  the  innermost  standpoint.  It  is  a  pioneer's  story, 
and  as  such  never  lacks  in  interest. 

JULIUS  RICHTER 

A  History  of  Protestant  Missions  in  the 
Near  East  svo,  cioth,  net  $2.50. 

A  companion  volume  to  "A  History  of  Missions  in 
India"  by  this  great  authority.  The  progress  of  the  gospel 
is  traced  in  Asia  Minor,  Persia,  Arabia,  Syria  and  Egypt. 
Non-sectarian  in  spirit  and  thoroughly  comprehensive  in 
•cope.  "It  is  truly  a  notable  work  and  can  be  endorsed 
in  unqualified  terms. — John  R.  Mott. 

WILLIAM  EDWARD  GARDNER 


Winners  of  the  World  During  Twenty 

CentUrieS    Adapted  for  Boys  and  Girls. 

A  Story  and  a  Study  of  Missionary  Effort  from  the  Time  of 
Paul  to  the  Present  Day.     Cloth,  net  6oc;  paper,  net  300. 
Brief    sketches    of    great    missionaries    in    chronological 
order,    extending    down    through     Augustine    and     Boniface 
the  apostles  to  England  and  Germany,  Xavier  in  Japan,  and 
Brainerd   among  the   Indians,   to   Carey,   Moffat   and   Living- 
stone and  Missionaries  of  our  own.  day.     Intensely  stimulat- 
ing and  suggestive. 


•pjj       This  book  is 
Renewed 


L    w  rnv^ti 

IOAN  DEPT. 


BORROWED 


235551 


